Shadows of the Heirs
by Naryfiel Lilith
Summary: There isn't a soul who doesn't know of the Marth, the Lodestar, and Nyna, Last Empress of Archanea. But there are few who know of 'those' people. Against the dreaded Shadow dragon, the two led their army of heroes, but 'those' people were their friends, their confidants. History holds few records of 'those' people, those 'shadows'. But this is their story. (FE11 Novelization)
1. Prologue 1) Thieving Mage

Prologue 1) Thieving Mage

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _A hell of a long time ago, Medeus, the Shadow Dragon, conquered the continent of Archanea, leading to an age of fear, despair, and all that good… bad… stuff. But, surprise, the tyranny was broken when all was at its lowest. A young man, Anri, appeared with a divine blade in hand. He stood fearlessly, and alone, against the Shadow Dragon and struck him down. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed an age of peace. Hooray._

 _However, all good things come to an end. It's been 100 years, and somehow, the Shadow Dragon returned. He allied with a stereotypical villain of a sorcerer, and their might toppled unsuspecting kingdoms. Again, everything was about to go to shit. So, it fell upon our king, Cornelius of Altea, to ride out with the army. It was his destiny or something, since he inherited the ability to wield Falchion._

 _So, his castle and the city are left with a token force, bolstered by a garrison from Altea's neighbor and ally, Gra. You know what they say, though. When the cat is away, the mice will play~ Things are great for thieves now. No one is paying any attention until its way too late._

 _Even the castle is fair game, despite Queen Liza, Princess Elice, and Crown Prince Marth remaining behind. Seriously, these guards are idiots. It's like they want the place to fall. Oh well._

* * *

It was child's play to sneak into the castle. There were so many shadows and secret passages, especially at this hour. It was a mark or so after light's out, and on a moonless night like tonight, that meant things were _extra_ dark. That was why a group of us, a small collection of thieves of various talents and no ties to each other, were here in the first place.

One of the others, the one with the sharpest eyes, led the way inside. They'd been in here before, though not for anything this fantastic. We were heading straight for the treasury, and planned on lining our pockets and packs with jewels a-plenty!

The leader held up their hand suddenly, urging us back. We pressed against the wall, hiding in the shadows, and I glanced down to check once again that I was dressed for the part. Most idiots dressed just in black to 'hide', but that never worked. You just got a human shaped black blob. So, the trick was to dress in something a bit more patchwork, with different shades of black and dark grey. You'd still be seen, but it was harder for someone to identify you as human from a distance. If they were close, well, you just had to knock them out and be done. The guards didn't care, especially now.

The guards here were even worse than the city, as they didn't even look down our little hallway as they passed. We waited a bit longer in the dark before slipping out of our hiding place and heading down another hallway. I made sure to take up the rear. That was my 'role' in this makeshift group. After all, unlike them, I had a means of fighting that didn't require being up close and personal with the targets.

"Relax. Everything is going perfectly." Those words, however, made me pause. I glanced around before heading to a nearby window. There, lounging below, were some soldiers. The red armor told me they were Gra. "We just 'ave to get to the prince. No big deal. He's a weakling."

"The boy might not be battle experienced, but only a fool looks at kindness and sees weakness." That speaker was a bit older than the other one, or so it looked from up here. "Don't be a fool."

"Bah, you worry too much." The two tottered off, almost like they were drunk. But I smelled no alcohol. I only smelled trouble, and I always did have a good nose.

Now, the smart thing would be to get the hell out and leave the others. But something about all this bugged me. It bugged me a lot, gnawing at the back of my head. I wondered if the something was my conscience. I thought I killed that long ago. But maybe it was like a cat and had nine lives.

Ugh, this was lame.

Sighing, I left the window, and followed the hallway, hunting for the rest of my group. We needed to get out of here. There was something wrong, and if it was wrong enough to bring my conscience back from the dead, I really needed to do something.

Someone's desperate running snagged my attention, though, and I automatically headed for it, wondering if one of us got caught. That would be a bit of a pain, but nothing I couldn't handle. At least, that was the theory. The reality of the situation, though, was that it wasn't one of my group. The runner was a blue haired boy with a tiara and fancy clothes.

Yeah, I didn't expect to run into Prince Marth.

"Who are you?" he yelped, skidding to keep from _literally_ running into me. "Are you… wait, no, who are you?" His eyes held no suspicion, only curiosity. "Are you lost? Do you need assistance?"

"I'm not telling and no, I don't need help or anything," I replied, crossing my arms and giving him a look. "Where's the fire?"

"The palace is on fire?" He looked alarmed. "I haven't smelled any smoke but-"

"It's an expression." So, this was our glorious prince, a glorified idiot. The future looked great for stealing. "You were running."

"Oh, yes." He coughed awkwardly, face pink from embarrassment. "I… well, I was looking for my sister. Have you seen her?"

"Nope." Hell, I doubted I'd even recognize her if I did. She didn't like leaving the castle for anything. Snob. "Can't say that I have."

"I see." He sighed, frowning. "Where could she be? The soldier said she wanted to meet me in the throne room, but she wasn't there." He shook his head. "Ah, I'm sorry to bother you. I'll just-"

"O'er here! I found him!" A Gra soldier ran up, not even looking at me as they focused on Marth. "There you are, lil' prince," they greeted. Their smile was carefully polite, and their demeanor carefully friendly. I was reminded of the old pedophiles that hunted in the streets. "Your sister is worried."

"Oh, did I miss her?" Marth asked. He apparently didn't notice anything wrong. "Ah, I should've stayed put."

"Yes, sir. Now, if you'll come with me, I'll take you to her."

"I wouldn't want to put you out." Marth smiled. "If you'll tell me where she is, I can find the place. This is my home, after all. I haven't gotten lost in three whole months!" He sounded so sincere that I had to wonder if that was truth or a joke.

"No, no, I insist. I'm not busy, anyway." He bowed. "So, please, let me help."

"Well…" Marth frowned, and I wondered if he finally caught on to how weird things felt. "I suppose?" Then again, maybe he hadn't. Well, it was no skin of my nose, so I'd just walk away.

But as I moved, Marth glanced at me, and I saw the fear in his eyes. No, he knew something was wrong. He knew, but he didn't know what, and now he was scared. Damn it, why did my conscience have to revive?

"You willing to trust me?" I whispered, keeping my voice quiet. He nodded. "You sure?" I ground my teeth as he nodded again. Damn it. "Then, close your eyes and cover your ears." I pulled out one of my little 'gifts' from my pack. "You might want to duck too."

He did all three of those things without hesitation, and I tossed my 'gift' in the air, and threw a thunder spell after it to ignite it. The result was, as always, instantaneous: instant smoke screen.

"Run!" I yelled, snatching his arm and dragging him after me as I bolted back down the hallway. The soldier was coughing and screaming behind us. "Get your feet under you! You know how to run, right?"

"Yes, thank you!" Marth replied. Surprisingly, it didn't take him long at all to right himself. Even more surprisingly, he freed his arm only to snag my hand instead. "Doesn't this lead to a dead end?"

"Nah, there's a good entry point here and, well, good entry points make even better exits." I glanced back at him. "You good at climbing?"

"Considering everything, I think I can be a fast study." Well, that was encouraging, not. "What's going on?"

"I got no clue and even less cares." I grinned as we made it to the 'entrance', a window we'd marked with a small black star before moving on, and I looked down to check it was clear. "All right then." I turned my attention to him. "You want to go first?"

"What are you even climbing?" Marth looked out the window dubiously. "There's no trees near here, and I don't see a rope."

"That answers that." Why was I saddled with an idiot? "Just do as I do." I flipped out easily, catching the ledge and climbing down. I went slower than I normally did, mostly so that he could see where I put my hands and feet. Of course, when I hit the ground and looked up, I saw him looking incredulous. "Well, climb down."

"You have high hopes for my flexibility."

"Well, you could stay and find out what the hell Gra wants with you, pretty boy. But given that aura, I don't think you'd like it much." I laughed as he quickly scrambled out the window. "I thought that'd get you moving."

"You are a very mean person."

"And you are slower than a legless turtle. Climb or fall. Make a choice." I fidgeted as he crawled down, bit by bit. There was a lot of noise now, and none of it sounded good.

He seemed to think the same. When he was about halfway, he glanced down with a thoughtful little frown and then purposely let go, falling the rest of the way. He landed with a nasty thump and a wince, but nothing was broken. That was a plus.

I held out my hand, and he took it without hesitation, letting me lead him down the path. We utilized the shrubs and statues of the courtyard to move forward. I spared a thought for my group, but noticing all the Gra soldiers scurrying about like angry ants, I decided they either got smart and escaped, or got dead and didn't. Either way, it wasn't my problem anymore.

"Oh!" Marth gasped after a moment. He pointed to two knights a bit ahead of us, both wearing Altean armor. "That's Abel and Frey," he whispered, smiling softly. "Good, they're all right."

"Are they trustworthy?" I asked, giving him a skeptical look. "Considering earlier…"

"Yes, I'm sure of it." His smile was bright, and I spared a little hope that he was right. It wasn't fun watching people shatter. "Oh, they have Elice with them!" He didn't move though, looking to me instead. "Is it safe to join them?"

"Wow, you do have a working brain." I studied the area, eyes narrowed. "If we move quickly, we should be." I tugged him down a side path. "Come on."

"Thank you." Marth squeezed my hand. "I really appreciate all of this, by the way."

"You better. I make a habit of avoiding trouble, not jumping into it."

"Then I am extra grateful." His smile grew. "Abel! Frey!"

"Sire!" The older knight, with hair almost he same shade as Marth, turned to face us with a warm, relieved smile. "You're all right," he breathed, bowing to Marth. "We couldn't find you in your rooms."

"A soldier told me Elice wanted to speak to me," Marth explained. He carefully let go of my hand before rushing to hug his sister. "Was that a ruse?"

"It was," Elice confirmed, hugging him back tightly. "Oh, Marth, I'm so relieved. I got separated from Mother, and no one knew what happened to you. I'm lucky Abel found and saved me."

"Abel, once again, I'm in your debt." Marth pulled away to smile to the other knight. I thought about slipping away, but Marth gestured to me, pulling me into the conversation. "I got lucky as well. She saved me."

"Then, miss, I owe you a great deal." Elice's smile was gentle and kind, way more than I would've thought. "Thank you, so much."

"You can thank me by explaining what's going on," I retorted, feeling a little unnerved. I was a thief. These were knights and royalty. Normally, I made sure to have an entire damn city between me and them. Yet, here I was. "I just know something isn't right."

"No, it's not," Elice whispered. Her smile fell, and her eyes were grave. "Our father was defeated."

"Well, shit." That wasn't good, for anyone. "What happened?"

"It was Gra. They betrayed us and attacked from the rear." Considering how they'd been acting, this made a _lot_ of sense. "So, truly, all of Altea owes you for saving Marth. We have no idea if Father is even still alive." Her breath caught and she coughed to clear her throat. "The scouts gave conflicting reports."

"If that's the case, then this place is falling." Yeah, my group was dead. There were no doubts about that now. Oh well. "Well, I normally avoid you folk, but if you want a way out, I know a path." I knew a lot of paths, actually, and damn it, my conscience wasn't going to let me go without offering that knowledge.

"Since the main gates are already overrun, I had given up hope. But if you know another…?" She paused, clearly expecting an answer, so I nodded. "Oh, wonderful. Abel, Frey, please, guard Marth while you flee."

"Of course, my lady," the other knight replied. Abel. His name was Abel. I didn't normally care, but these were weird circumstances. "But what of you?" He reached around and took Marth's shoulder. Marth seemed a little dazed by all of this. "Surely, you are not requesting us to leave you alone."

"I want to try and find Mother," Elise replied sweetly. She clasped her hands in front of her. "Jagan shouldn't be far either. I want to see if he has more information for us." She turned to the older knight. Frey. _His_ name had to be Frey. "Carry him if you must, but please, you must move quickly!"

"You're right about that, my lady," Frey replied. He promptly picked up Marth like he was nothing more than a sack of potatoes. The image made me smile. "Miss, we are in your care."

This was supposed to be an easy job. Why was everything so freaking weird?

* * *

Marth didn't unfreeze until we made it to the garden walls, far beyond the point where he could've run back to his sister safely. So, instead, he listened to me as I showed the three how to climb the vines, and soon, we were out of the palace all together and into the city.

Unfortunately, it seemed Gra had anticipated runners. The whole place was on fire.

"Why is it going up so quickly?" Abel snapped as we dodged another falling piece of a flaming roof. We had to take the back alleys to make any sort of progress, but unfortunately, those were the places where roofs hung over the edge the most. "Not every building is made of wood!"

"But a lot have wooden pieces, and the landowners often used pitch or even tar to fix things," I explained with a shrug. This situation was all kinds of bad, but this part wasn't surprising. "No one caught them, and now, everyone's paying for it."

"You speak of terrible things calmly."

"It's called 'living by the skin of your teeth', dummy." I threw him a glare over my shoulder. "I could scream like a hysterical noblewoman, but I think you'd prefer me leading you out of here." Ugh, why did my conscience have to resurrect? I could've been safe and sound by now, and not having to deal with any of this shit.

"Abel, you're being rude," Marth chided. I was surprised he even talked. He'd been quiet ever since we left the palace, and there was a dead look in his eyes as we ran. "I would be dead if not for her."

"…I'm sorry, sire," Abel mumbled. He paused. "And I'm sorry, miss. I shouldn't have scolded. Cain has frequently complained about my own stoic nature. I suppose I understand why now."

"That's part of growing up, Abel," Frey murmured. "Understanding others and learning how to adapt." He was definitely the oldest of the group, and it showed by how easily he made sure we all stayed together. "They're rounding up the people." He pointed through the flames, where there _were_ soldiers herding people like they were cattle. "They must be looking for us."

"What will they do to them?"

"I hope nothing." His tone implied, however, that he expected them to do _something_. Considering the 'herding' metaphor, I wasn't sure I wanted to know what he expected. "We must keep going."

"Is there truly nothing we can do to help?" Marth asked. He paused as we passed by a particularly large alley, giving us a very clear view of a group of people trembling on their knees. A couple didn't look older than five. "They…"

"My prince, what you can do is get to safety," Frey murmured. He was already pushing Marth along the path, taking him out of sight of the captives. "If you go, they will only watch you be killed."

"But…" Marth sighed and drooped. "Why…? Why is all of this happening?"

"I don't know, sire." Frey rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder, even as he urged Abel to follow. "If I did, I would have stopped it."

While they moved forward, I lingered behind, watching the group. Some Gra soldiers walked up and jeered at them. I couldn't hear them well. It was something about how Altea was the country of heroes and yet it fell so easily.

Then, suddenly, they brought their sword down on one of the kid's head, splitting it open. There was screaming and crying, and I tried to figure out what happened. Why did they kill the kid? Was it just random? That happened sometimes. But, it didn't really make sense to me.

As I watched the kids blood trickle into the dirt, I figured out the answer. The kid had blue hair, the same shade as Marth's. He'd been killed just for that.

Well, _now_ I was terrified. I had blue hair too. So, I ran down the path, easily catching up to the others, balling my fists to keep them from shaking. This was weird. This was super-weird, and I was only in the middle of this because I had to get a conscience again!

I might have stormed ahead, but Marth reached back to take my hand. I wasn't sure if he was looking for reassurance, or if he'd somehow sensed I was shaken. I supposed it didn't matter. Holding onto him made it less likely that he'd get lost, and I already knew that was bad.

"We're almost to the edge of the city," I whispered after a moment. Screams and sobbing echoed eerily around us, and the smell of smoke and blood was almost enough to choke me. "It's just a little farther." I was almost done. I'd get them there, and then I'd wash my hands clean of them and run far, far away. Gra couldn't reach every little hiding hole in the country, and if there was one thing a thief knew how to do, it was hide.

Of course, when we got there, we found a knight riding up on a horse, and promptly slip from the saddle as the horse slowed to a stop. He landed with a quiet 'splat' due to all the blood on him. I actually wondered if his hair and armor were naturally red, or had become that color.

"Cain!" Marth cried, rushing for the fallen knight. The other two followed quickly so, with a groan, I joined them. Of course. Of _course_ , they knew him. Why wouldn't they? "Cain, can you hear me?" He rolled the knight over, and helped him sit up. "Cain!"

"Prince Marth?" the knight croaked. He opened one eye, and managed a smile. His teeth were bloody. I chose to not focus on any of his other injuries. "It's really you. Thank the gods. I thought the message would go undeliv… agh…" He winced, struggling to breath. "Damn it."

"Easy, Cain. We need to treat your wounds."

"We need to get further away, sire." That was a new voice, and I whirled, one hand dropping to my pack. However, the speaker was an old man in the spikiest armor I'd ever seen. Did he expect to stab people with his shoulders? "Cain, I trust you can put off bleeding to death for a while longer?" he continued, voice somewhere between serious and joking.

"Of course, Sir Jagan," the knight, Cain, immediately replied. His voice was breathy. "I am to please."

"Excellent." The old man whistled, and a few horses trotted up. Now that I had a name, I knew him. Jagan was the oldest knight in the force, and stupidly loyal. "Abel, Frey, I took liberty to get your horses. I don't trust Cain to ride alone with those injuries, so one of you, take him. I will take Prince Marth. Whoever doesn't have Cain, take the girl." Did I get no say in this? What made him think that I wanted to get on a creature that could kill me?

"What of Elice, Jagan?" Marth asked. Abel quickly took charge of Cain, while Frey helped me into the saddle of his horse without asking if I wanted to ride in the first place. "She said she was looking for you."

"She has chosen to remain at the palace, to buy you time to escape and to treat the injured." Jagan picked up Prince Marth and slung him into the saddle. "Abel, tie Cain's horse to your saddle to make sure he doesn't spook and run."

"What do you mean she's staying?!" Marth tried to leap from the saddle, but Jagan swung up and stopped him easily. "Jagan! Let me go! I order you to let me go!"

"I'm sorry, sire, but that is an order I cannot obey." He looked to the rest of us. "Come, we must ride to the fort! I'll explain more then!"

"Jagan, please!" But despite Marth's desperate cries, Jagan didn't even hesitate. He urged his horse into a gallop, and Abel and Frey quickly followed suit, leaving Cain to bleed, Marth to cry, and me to wonder what the hell I was getting into.

Damn it, this was why I hated knights. They assumed everyone was as stupidly sacrificial as they were.

* * *

We rode all the way to one of the fortresses, a good few marks out of the city. In the distance, you could only see little specks of the flames. But the smoke billowed up into the night sky, swallowing up the stars. The village fortuneteller would have been screaming about bad omens at this point. I, however, was still trying to figure out why they thought I'd come with them this far. I'd only offered to show them out of the palace, and the city.

"Easy, Cain." Marth's voice made me turn my attention from the burning city and back to what was around me. "You have to stop fidgeting," he scolded, bandaging up Cain's injuries. Abel and Frey had gone to scout ahead while Jagan watched over the rest of us. "You're not making it easy on me."

"Sorry, sire," Cain replied. He had a little grin on his face. "I'm enjoying the pain, so to speak." Wow, I did _not_ need to know he was a masochist. "It means that I am alive, sire, and that I made it to you. I didn't fail."

"Of course you didn't." Marth tied the last bandage and sat back. "Honestly, though, you really should rest."

"Sire, it's my pride that bleeds more than my body." If that was the case, considering all the wounds he had and how splattered his armor was, his pride was probably dead from blood loss. "Besides, I must… I must tell you King Cornelius's final words." Even I froze at the words. King Cornelius was…?

"Final?" Marth's voice cracked, and he look up at Jagan, as if begging him to tell him he misheard. But Jagan only closed his eyes, so Marth turned his attention back to Cain. "You can't mean…"

"My condolences sire. He died valiantly on the fields of Gra." Who cared how he died? Dead was freaking dead. "He did all that he could, but Jiol skewered him and stole the Falchion from his corpse." Well, when a person died, their stuff became fair game. "Then he ordered no mercy for us. I barely managed to escape."

"I…" Marth croaked. His eyes swam with tears, but he shook his head violently to keep from crying. "So, everyone is dead."

"Yes." Cain looked remarkably stable for a sole survivor. Then again, I wasn't in his head. "His last words were: 'Tell my son that I leave the future of Altea and our continent in his hands. He must rise now where I have fallen. As Falchion's rightful heir, he was born into greatness. Now, he must be great.'"

Marth didn't reply, and an awkward silence hovered over us. I hated silence. Silence always meant bad things were coming.

So, I turned to Jagan and asked, "what's the plan from here?"

"We escape," Jagan answered easily. To his credit, his tone didn't even imply an 'of course'. Maybe it was because he knew why I had asked, and was grateful for the subject change. "We head to Talys, in the east." He smiled slightly. "The king there is a true friend of your father's, and arrangements were made in advance, just in case you had to run. I sent Draug ahead to get the ship ready. We just need to break to the north." He paused, and turned to me. "Though, perhaps you have another plan for yourself?" Oh, sure, _now_ that got acknowledged.

"Well, considering everything, I think I'm stuck with you." I wasn't happy about this one bit. "Gra's soldiers are coming at us faster than a thunder bolt, and I am _not_ sticking around to see what they'd do to a girl like me." I almost grabbed a lock of my hair, remembering that dead kid. No, I didn't want to learn one bit. "So, when do we move?"

"About… now." He sounded so certain that I was a little confused, but as he turned, I realized he'd heard Frey and Abel return. "Is everything clear?"

"Mostly," Abel replied. He shifted and almost saluted, but checked the motion when Jagan shook his head. "We heard something from within the prison to the north, but it shouldn't be much if anything."

"If we can make it past the prison and the fortresses beyond, we should be safe," Frey added. His eyes were worried. "However, as she said, Gra's soldiers are closing in quickly."

"So, Cain, can you move?" Abel offered Cain his hand and helped pull him up. "Because we might need a reckless charge, and who better?"

"Oh, shut up," Cain replied, the words having no heat. He rolled his shoulder and winced. "Well, you'd better be prepared to clean up the mess if that's the case."

"Don't I always," Abel instantly retorted, laughing a little at Cain's scowl. "Don't strain yourself."

"As I told Prince Marth, these scratches are nothing. I'm used to your horrible swinging anyway."

"What was that?!"

"Um… should we intervene?" Marth asked softly as Abel and Cain fell into some sort of bickering. Frey and Jagan shook their heads, and were even smiling. "Okay, then… um… let's just keep going." He moved ahead, not glancing back even once.

I chased after him. "So, pretty boy, I don't think it's a good idea to just go on ahead," I drawled. He didn't respond. "You hearing me?"

"Hmm?" He glanced back, surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

"Oh, great, you're hardheaded." I pointed back to the others, scrambling. "See? We're leaving them behind."

"Oh, Abel and Cain will bicker all day if we let them, but if I move ahead, they'll yelp and push forward." He nodded to the giant building we were walking to. "This is the northern prison. It's been unused for decades." He rested his hand on the door and pushed it open with a creak. "Unlocked… yes, people were in here before…" He peered around the door and yelped. "Yow! It's an enemy ambush!"

"Uh… Marth, if you had time to say that, I doubt it is." I leaned around the door, eyeing the 'ambush' skeptically. "I'll give you credit on the uniform, but I think he's a little too tied up to be doing much of anything." Hell, he was _tied to a chair_. "Also, who says 'yow'?"

"Me." Marth pushed open the door further, walked over to the tied up boy, and bent down to work on the ropes. "Hold on. I'll get these off you."

"Remove the gag first, you idiot." I crouched next to the boy too and got the rope out. "I bet you feel a lot better with that out of your mouth."

"I'll be tasting dirt for weeks," the boy complained, sighing in relief as Marth got the last of the bindings undone. "Pleasure to meet you, sire. I'm-"

"You're Gordin, one of our archers," Marth said. He smiled at Gordin's stare. "I tend to have a good memory for faces and names." He took Gordin's arm, frowning at the rope burns. "Those need to be treated."

"Oh, it's no big deal. I've gotten worse during training." Gordin grinned. "I'm fine, sire. Promise."

"But…"

"Sire, miss, please do not go so far ahead." Jagan walked in then, leading the other knights inside the building. "Ah, was one of ours captured here?" he asked, giving Gordin a suspicious look. "Why are you in a Gra uniform?"

"There were some Gra soldiers who stole my uniform to better sneak into the castle," Gordin answered. He clenched his fist. "They put one on me in the hopes that you'd see just the uniform and kill me."

"I had wondered why there were more Gra soldiers than garrison numbers dictated." He sighed and signaled the others. "Check and secure the area. We need to get those burns bandaged so they aren't infected."

The rest of the knights spread out, checking every cell in the whole place to make sure no one was hiding. Since I hadn't been told to do anything, I lingered by the entrance, wondering maybe I _could_ make a break. Yeah, I had told Jagan that I was stuck, but maybe I wasn't. Maybe…

However, as I looked outside, all those maybes dried up and turned to ash. "So, I think we have a problem," I called. I glanced back to make sure I had everyone's attention. To my surprise, I did. "We have a bunch of heavily armored people and some people in fancy armor and fancier horses coming up behind us." I looked back to the approaching horde and grimaced at how many there were, over a hundred at least. "They look mad and mean." I turned to the others and noticed Jagan had paled. "So, I take it I'm right and it _is_ bad."

"Extremely," he breathed. He walked to entrance too, to confirm my words, and actually flinched. "That's Gra's man force, and they are accompanied by Grust's Sable Order." Well, I could get why the former was bad, but was I supposed to know who the latter was? "There is no way we can route them, and escaping…"

"So, what do we do?" Marth asked softly, drawing our attention back inside. He looked a little lost as he helped steady Gordin and finished bandaging Gordin's wrist. "We… we have to get away… Elise, Father, Mother… if I get caught…"

"I know, sire." Jagan grit his teeth. "But we have very low chances."

"But we can increase them easily," Frey suddenly pointed out. To everyone's surprise, he started unbuckling his armor. Was he going to give the enemy soldiers a striptease? I imagined that would shock them. "Sire, give me your cloak and headdress and put on my armor."

"Huh? Why?" Marth yelped, confused. He was even more confused when Frey just took the items and started snapping the armor on him. "Frey, what's going on?"

"My hair color is similar to yours. From a distance, they will think I am you." He snapped the last bit of armor in place and swung on the cloak, smiling warmly. "The cloak will hide our different builds, and no mere knight would wear something this fine." Slowly, the implications of his words sunk in. He was going to be a decoy. "The rank and file will focus on me, and you can escape before those who can see through the ruse make it here." He was going to be bait.

"You can't!" Marth clung to Frey desperately. "No, we'll find another way! There's no way you can-!"

"My prince, I am a knight. It is an honor to live for your sake, and it is an honor to die for your sake." He was perfectly calm. He had already accepted all of this.

"There's been to many sacrifices already!" Marth shook his head. "Please, you have to… please…!"

"Then, if you might here this humble knight's request?" Frey pried Marth's hands off of him and knelt. "Live. Live, grow strong, and be happy. That is my dearest wish." He smiled as Marth started crying. "Please, grant it."

"I…" Marth's voice cracked. "I wish…"

"I know, sire. I understand."

"I know. I will. I promise." He then gave Frey a serious look, almost too serious considering the tears. "But if you can find a way back, I don't care how long it's been. You come back."

"I swear it." He nudged Marth towards the back door. "Now go, and don't look back."

To my utter shock, Marth did just that, racing ahead in too big armor that clanged. Frey smiled proudly as he left, and headed for the entrance, walking towards his death with his head held high.

"Frey!" However, there were others in the group who didn't agree with this plan. Cain struggled against Jagan, reaching desperately for Frey even as Jagan tried to shove him after Marth. "Frey, damn it, get back here!" he snapped. His wounds had reopened; the blood streamed down. "Frey!"

"I'm sorry we couldn't have that duel, Cain!" Frey called back. He grinned over his shoulder and saluted. "Get better, and we'll duel in the afterlife, all right?"

"Frey!" He might have said more, but Jagan shoved him ahead, and so Cain turned, to chase after Marth.

Then Jagan had another problem. Abel darted past him, and went straight to Frey. "I understand," he whispered. Well, maybe this wasn't a problem after all. Jagan didn't seem to think so; he followed Cain without a look back. "I understand. I'd do the same. I wish you didn't have to do this, though. I wish…"

"I know, Abel," Frey replied. He clasped his shoulder and smiled. "Keep up your training. Prince Marth will need you and Cain more than ever. Cain will see that, in time."

"Lazy of you to throw your duties at us." The barbed words were softened by how Abel looked ready to cry. "Give them hell."

"Oh, I intend to." Frey stepped away. "Go, and make sure she doesn't get left behind." He nodded to me, as if he knew my legs were frozen from… well… everything. "We owe her a great deal."

"On it." Abel turned away, and snagged my shoulder, dragging me after him as we escaped and left Frey behind.

Marth might not have looked back, but I did. I did, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand how he could look death so calmly in the face. I couldn't understand why he seemed content when he was about to die.

I couldn't understand him. Gods, what an _idiot_.

* * *

We made it to the port without any more trouble. A man in heavy armor named Draug and a pink-haired archer girl named Norne met us there, and got us bundled onto the ship before any of us could say anything.

Then, we were off without another word. Nothing blocked our path. It seemed that no one expected us to escape by sea. So, before long, we were out in open water, where nothing could catch us.

Cain had passed out at last once we were 'safe'. Abel fell asleep not long after, as did Gordin. Norne had volunteered to take 'first watch', though I had no idea what she'd be watching for. I wandered into one of the rooms and found a map with country names on them. I barely recognized any of the names, and it took me a while to find Talys on it. It was really far out of our way, with us having to go around Gra and Archanea before passing by some islands. I supposed that helped our escape. But it really hammered home how far out of my depth I was.

Seriously, I was a thief. I stole things. I didn't save anything but money. Why was I stuck in this mess? Oh, right, it was my conscience's fault. This was why I had tried to kill it years ago. Damn it all.

Sighing, I stepped out of the room and headed for the… what was it even called? I knew nothing about ships, just that they floated on water and were bad to steal from. Still, I headed out to that open little area, and noticed Marth at the railing, staring forlornly at the horizon as Altea grew smaller.

I lingered back, trying to figure out what I wanted, or needed, to do, and I ended up just staring at that little boy. Now that I thought about it, wasn't he a year younger than me? I'd never cared before. I didn't care now. But it was hard to not remember that, as I looked at him now.

Both Jagan and Draug meandered over to him and talked, but they must have said the same damn thing as Marth didn't look any better after they left. As they went to other duties, I hesitated a bit more before sighing and walking over to stand next to him. I didn't say anything, just kept up the silence. I didn't know what to say. All of this was just a little too weird for me. So, it startled me when _he_ broke the silence.

"I always wanted to go sailing," he whispered. He continued looking out over the horizon, with tired, angry eyes. "Father promised that we'd sail one day soon, before all the trouble. I'd looked forward to it."

"Well, he sorta kept his promise," I mumbled. Shit, I didn't know what to say. I never had parents or a sibling, and I'd had warning when Grandpa died. "You did go sailing."

"I suppose that's true." He balled his hands into fists. "…Craven…"

"Hmm?"

"I am a craven. Powerless to save anyone, to staunch my kingdom's wounds, to ease my people's fears…" He sighed, resting his head on the railing. I more tried to figure out what 'craven' meant. "What sort of prince am I?"

"Apparently, you're the kind people wanted to die for." I looked out over the horizon, seeing Altea almost out of sight. I'd never even thought of leaving the capital, much less the country. Now, because my conscience decided to come back, I was. Damn it, of all the times… "I've looked death in the face before. It's terrifying. Yet Frey faced that fear in the hope that you'd live."

"Yes, but I do not see why, except for a single accident of birth." He clenched his fists. "I can wield Falchion, and the Shadow Dragon lives. That's it. That's the only reason why my life is worth anything."

"He wouldn't have had a wish like his if that was the only reason." Why was I being his therapist? I had every reason in the world to be pissed off. But honestly, it felt like I'd be kicking a day old kitten if I did. Even I wasn't that bad. "But, I guess you could work to become something worthy of it? I mean; you're alive, right? The only thing constant about life is change."

"I suppose you're right." He suddenly started laughing. It was a broken bit of laughter, thick with tears, but it was a laugh. The sound startled me. "I just realized." He lifted his head to give me a rueful smile. "You saved my life many times, and got dragged into this mess only because of your kindness, yet I don't know your name. I know it is rather late, but might I hear it?"

I hesitated in answering, but that was mostly because of shock. It had been a long time since someone actually cared to learn my name. "It's Kristina, Marth." I leaned against the railing too, so that I was looking him in the face. "My name is Kristina. Call me Kris."

* * *

 _Records on Kristina/Kris_

· _A 15 year old mage with no formal training, using her skills to assist in stealing_

· _Known to make concoctions of various types, mostly things such as smokescreens, to assist in her thefts_

· _Favors thunder magic, having a natural affinity with the element._

· _An orphan who never knew her parents. Was taken in by a retired knight, Maclir, but turned to stealing after his death for reasons unknown_

* * *

Author's note: Welcome to Shadows of the Heirs, a novelization of FE11, Shadow Dragon. You might have noticed a note on whose POV the chapter is: that is because this novelization has two POVs. Here is our first one, Kristina, called Kris. As can be guessed by the name, she is based off of the FE12 Avatar. Now, FE11 is scarce on plot and character details, so a lot of things learned during FE12 will likely feature, and I will be taking influences from the manga as well. There will also be times where I removed characters, such as here: I removed Malledus, for purpose of pacing.

However, there is one major note about this novelization. There will be a specific point where I change what happens in the plot, because I disagree with how it was ultimately handled by the story, and it is a change that will affect events for this story's sequel. If you are curious about this change, please feel free to PM me.

Now, this chapter is based on the Shadow Dragon prologue, unique to that version of the game. Frey and Norne are both characters unique to FE11, as opposed to the rest who appeared in the original FE1. Frey is considered the canon sacrifice, while Norne is one of the… infamous bonus characters, gained only if you lose two units during the prologue. I will be doing all of the gaiden chapters, by the way, while not bothering with the absolutely ridiculous requirements for them.

The joke about Jagan and Draug saying the same thing in the last scene is due to how, if Jagan dies, Draug will speak in his place, and say the exact same thing.

Next Chapter – Prologue 2 with our other POV char


	2. Prologue 2) Loyal Mercenary

Prologue 2) Loyal Mercenary

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _When Altea fell, everyone's hopes withered on the vine. Most held onto the shriveled husk tightly and turned their attention to the royal family of Archanea, the holy country. The largest and most prosperous of all, supported by its five marches. But now, it was truly in a hopeless situation. Medy, the Shadow Dragon, is determined to see the castle fall and with Altea overrun, he devotes his full might to the task._

 _I am not being paid enough for this._

* * *

Castle Archanea was lovely. It was filled with luxurious rugs and paintings, perfectly kept statues and suits of armor, and other things that screamed 'I am very rich'. Everyone ate well, even under these conditions.

The whole thing pissed me off. All of these luxuries were undeniable proof how poor of a king Archanea had. Honestly, the bastard hadn't even offered token reinforcements to Altea, and didn't commit his force until it was beyond too late.

"Why do we remain?" I grumbled, glaring at Charles. Though I held no real rank among the Wolf Pack mercenaries, I still got away with being insubordinate to him, even though he was the captain. After all, he and I were siblings in everything but blood. "I know Astram called in a favor, but even he wouldn't be so stupid and hotheaded as to assume you stay."

"We're under contract," he reminded me with a little shrug. He leaned back in his chair, casually sipping his wine. "Besides, you like Astram."

"I don't like him enough to die for these morons who brought this on themselves." I kept my voice quiet. I wasn't stupid enough as to let any of the knights or nobles over hear me. Assuming they'd be anywhere near the guest rooms we mercenaries were set up in. "Isn't it justice that his pretty little world falls apart around him? There's a slave market not a day away that's an open secret… he refused to send aid to _any_ to asked…"

"Is it justice that his servants must suffer because he was a stupid king?" He smiled as I scowled. "Besides, Princess Nyna seems infinitely more competent."

"Infinity times zero is still zero." My scowl deepened. "She's a ninny and a spoilt brat, with a head full of bad romances."

"Her people love her."

"People adore a pretty little figurehead." The real power of the place lied with the marches. "But we're off topic. If we stay, we shall die." Our of the five marches, Duke Lang of Adria and Duke Bent of Samsooth betrayed Archanea, Duke Charon of Deil and Duke Noah of Menedy were dead, and Duke Cartas of Lefcandith was under siege by the traitors and couldn't send aid. I'd heard Deil's heir, Midia, and Menedy's heir, Jeorge, were knights here at the palace, and they refused to leave.

"I already told the rest of the Pack that they can leave if they wish." He gave me a look. "You weren't an exception to that rule."

"You know very well that I won't leave you." How could I? When I was broken and starving, he had been the one to extend his hand and give me another home.

"I told you, a thousand times, you owe me nothing." He sighed and stood up, coming over to give me a hug. "You've saved my life too, for one. For two, you're my sister. You never owe me anything."

"Why will you not just explain why you refuse to leave?"

"I'm the leader of the Wolf Pack. I keep my word." He pulled away and ruffled my hair. "Honestly, I would prefer it if you left." He sighed when I scowled again. "Damn it, why are you so stubborn?"

"Kettle, meet pot." Biting back a growl, I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. "So, this is where we die?"

"Well, we might get luck." He patted my back. "But, don't throw your life away. If I die, live for me."

"I shall promise that only if you promise the same."

"Fair enough." He pulled away and held out his pinky with a cheeky grin. "Come on. Just like we used to."

"As always, you're a child." Still, I hooked my pinky around his. "Cross my heart, hope to die."

"Stick a needle in my eye." He laughed as we stepped apart. "Come on. Share a glass. It's a nice vintage."

"Well, I suppose facing our impending doom would be better if I'm tipsy." I collapsed into one of the chairs in the room and held out my hand. "Actually, just give me the bottle."

"No way. I'm not risking you getting drunk again, missy." Charles returned to his chair and topped off the glass before passing it to me. "Here. That's all you're getting, miss 'I can barely take two sips without getting drunk'."

"Meanie."

* * *

I had always thought a 'river of blood' was just a dramatic invention of the bards, meant to evoke horror and terror. But it seemed like if you killed enough people, you really did get a river of blood, streaming down the back hallway. An outsider might've been horrified, but someone who watched the people die? I was just glad it wasn't me and fought hard to keep it that way.

"There is no way we were being paid enough for this," I growled, kicking a corpse out of my way as I moved to the center of the room, back to back with Charles. "Of course, I doubt we're being paid at all, especially now."

"I know; I suck at contract negotiations," Charles immediately joked. I knew that was more because humor kept us from passing out. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alive." That was better than the rest of the group that had been here. "What was the objective again?"

"Hold the room as long as possible to buy time for evacuations. Astram is in charge of those."

"Who's with him? Midia?"

"No, she's with Princess Nyna. I think they carried her off a different way." Oh, were they going to take her through a special secret exit that they wouldn't show the others because they were snobs? "Jeorge was with him, last I saw. I'm sure they'll hold for a long while.

"If you say so." I glowered at our enemies, noting their armor. "We're fighting Grustians."

"Not just Grustians." He laughed bitterly. "See the fancy armor? This is the Sable Order."

"Well, if a couple of tired mercenaries can hold them off in a large space like this, they clearly don't live up to their reputation."

"Well, to be fair, I'm sure we're facing the rank and file."

"I suppose that's true." I grimaced as one charged. "I have a lancer."

"And I've an axe-er. Switch on three."

Neither of us actually counted, of course. We knew each other too well to need something like that. In perfect sync, we twisted. He easily skewered the approaching lancer, since they hadn't had their guard up yet, and I used his back as a stepping stone to get up high and slam my sword into the axe user's skull, splintering it into pieces.

Then I spun again, switching to being back-to-back with Charles again. We kept ourselves in front of the only 'exit' of the room. The soldiers were determined to get through, but we wouldn't let them. We would make them earn the right to kill us, and make it through.

"Fire!" For a split second, I wondered if they'd brought mages, because they were tired of getting close and risking their lives. But then I realized that wasn't the case. It was arrows. Arrows rained down, and we did our best to dodge while still staying in front of the door.

I got hit in the shoulder. Charles wasn't as lucky. One arrow managed to slip under his breastplate to catch him in the heart.

We both ducked down, and I flinched at his wheezing. He wasn't going to last long. _I_ wasn't going to last long. But we had our objective: hold the room. So, I glanced around the room, looking for anything that could help. Then, I looked up.

"The candelabra is lit," I whispered. It was up there, with all its candles flickering. That was a lot of fire, and even though there was a lot of blood, there were even more flammable things. "It's the kind that lowers." The chain and rope that held it was just on the far wall.

"Go," he gasped. He grit his teeth as he set his stance. "I'll buy you time." He gave me a smile. "Love you. I'm glad we met."

"I am too, and I love you too." I turned away, and utilized the blood to slide to the other side. Gasps made me glance back and I saw Charles had ripped the arrow out. It would give him less time, but the shock the soldiers had left them easy pickings.

As I reached the far wall, I saw Charles was fighting against another lance user, a man with gold hair and wearing even fancier armor than the rest. Between the look and the skill, I figured out who Charles's final opponent was: Camus the Sable, the brilliant general of Grust, leader of the Sable Order. A fitting end for Charles.

I found the chain and rope and struggled to untie it. Cheers and gasps made me glance back, and I saw Charles was flagging, barely able to hold up his spear. He had bought me all the time he could. So, I stepped back, settled into a stance, and whirled, spinning to add more force to my blow. The gamble paid off as the rope and chain snapped and the candelabra fell with a quiet creak, and then a giant _crack_.

Soldiers screamed. Blood splattered. But the room went up within the blink of an eye. Through the crackling flames, I heard Charles laugh. I knew he was proud of me.

But now, though, I had to do what I could to keep my promise to him. He was dead, so I had to live for him. Assuming I survived this, of course. But the first step to that was to _run_.

I ducked through the smoke, jumped over burning bodies, and made it to the hallway. There, I ran as fast as I could, desperate to get some distance. Unfortunately, the river of blood made the going hard. I slipped and stumbled, crashing into the wall. I bit back a whimper as I accidentally snapped the arrow, worsening my injury. Outside of a fight, exhaustion was eager to sink its claws into me, and every little scratch and scrape screeched in pain, demanding to be felt. I tried to keep going, though. I couldn't get caught. If I was caught, I'd…

"There you are." The calm voice had a distinct Grustian accent, so I knew who it was before I even turned around to confirm it. Camus. "You certainly gave us the runaround," he murmured, inclining his head slightly. Between that and his tone, I gathered he was actually impressed. "But you can't fight in your condition."

"Sadly, you're right," I replied. There was no point in lying, especially since he could kill me in twenty different ways before I could blink. "Well, I'm caught. So…" I sighed, and shifted, bringing my sword up to the side of my neck. I wasn't exactly fond of the idea of dying, but at least I'd give myself a quick one.

"Hold on a moment." He made as if to reach for me, but he checked the motion. "Will you not surrender?"

"I know what happens to captured female mercenaries." I smiled wryly. "I've no intention of suffering that sort of trauma."

"If you surrender to me, then I can give you protection." He sounded serious enough.

I still gave him a skeptical look. "So, I become 'your' woman?"

"No, that is not what I meant." His eyes narrowed slightly and a distinct bit of sarcasm drifted into his tone. "Please take no offense, as I'm sure you're quite fetching when you're not covered with enough blood to fill a tub, but I am not attracted to you at all."

"You're not all that attractive either with the soot marring your face and turning your hair grey." Seriously, he looked almost like an old man.

"Funny how the bards never mention that part of fighting." He shook his head, soot falling off of him. Now that I looked, I saw he actually had some minor burns. He hadn't been that close to the center. Had he tried to save his men before coming after me? "Regardless, as I said, I can give you protection. If you surrender to Grust, then no one else can intervene. You have my word, for whatever that is worth to you."

"Oh?" I still was skeptical, but I sighed, bringing the sword back down to my side. "Well, Charles did make me promise to live for him if he died. I guess you're my best option in keeping that promise." I debated shrugging, but opted to simply roll my eyes. "What sort of girl doesn't trust the man who fought her brother until he died?"

"To be fair, he charged me, and he got quite a few good hits himself." He gestured to his leg for emphasis, and I noticed a dark stain on the black. "There are others; that one just reopened as I tried to chase you."

"Good, I'm glad he went out fighting." I wished he didn't 'go out' at all. But I always expected to lose him, and I'd known today would be that day the moment he refused to leave. It hurt, but I had to focus on the now. If I was going to keep my promise to him, then I had to…

"He was skilled. I'm sorry I couldn't fight him at full strength." He hesitated before continuing. "Would you like me to apologize for his death?"

"It's war. If we got hung up on who killed who, then we'd never sleep." I shook my head. "We're mercenaries; we were always doomed to die on the battlefield. It hurts, but that's not your fault. You followed your orders, and we followed ours."

"You are a very wise young woman, almost too much so." He held out his hand, and, after a moment, I took it for the offered handshake. "Come, let's get your injuries tended to. I imagine you'll want that arrow out of your shoulder."

"Oh, no, I was thinking of keeping it in until it became a fashion statement. Beauty is pain, after all." I cracked a smile as he let a chuckle escape. "Well, what do you know? You have a sense of humor."

"Impossible. Knights don't have that." He smiled back, just slightly. "Regardless, even if you like the pain, I don't. Please, follow me, so that I may get my injuries treated."

"Lead on, protector."

* * *

"You'll have to take it easy with the shoulder, but you should be able to fight as usual once it's healed." The soldier tending to me smiled, and I smiled back, mostly so that I didn't have to talk. I couldn't even remember his name. Belf? Virgil? Both rung a bell.

It didn't really matter. He left to tend to some other wounded, leaving me alone. It amazed me how easily the Sable Order tolerated me. They didn't accept me, and they didn't trust me. That much was obvious, and I didn't blame them. It wasn't as if I trusted them.

But they trusted Camus, and I was choosing to believe Camus wouldn't give me to the Dolhr soldiers to use as a toy. That was, apparently, enough.

"How are your injuries?" Camus walked over, and I noticed the slight limp he had. The wound Charles inflicted was deep; it was likely he'd always have a weakness there. "Are you well?" he asked, genuinely concerned. "I know shoulder injuries can be…"

"You have skilled healers," I told him. His slight smile told me he was proud of them. Honestly, he seemed proud of _all_ his men. "I have to take it easy, but I should make a full recovery." I pointed to his leg. "What about you?"

"Well, if I hadn't reopened it, I might've made a full recovery." He shrugged, not bothered. "It won't effect my riding, though, and that is how I do most of my fighting."

"Lucky for you, then." I looked over the gathered soldiers, noticing there were only Grustians here. Had all of this been due to Grust alone? Had Camus and his Sable Order defeated Archanea without help from the rest of Dolhr's force?

"I must admit; I expected tears or anger by now." Camus looked almost worried. "Your brother is dead. The battle is over, and no one here would judge…"

I smiled ruefully and shook my head. "I'm a mercenary. This is something I've been prepared for." Though, truthfully, the pain was so much that I was absolutely numb. That made it easier to pretend things were fine. "Besides, we both knew we'd die if we stayed. I'm sure I'll be angry before long, though."

"If you need a target…"

"I don't know if that is you being kind or you feeling guilty and wishing someone else would blame you too." I ignored his wince "But, as I said, I'm not mad at you. You followed the orders of your king, just as we followed our own orders. I imagine I'll be pissed at Medy or the king of this junk."

"…Medy?" His expression blanked. "Do you mean Medeus?"

"I mean the overgrown lizard with a fetish for death, darkness, and despair that brought the war on us in the first place." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "So, he's the one who brought the war, and the king of this place was the one incompetent enough to do too little, too late. They seem better targets of my anger than a knight who doesn't feel like biting the one who pulls his leash."

"Should I bark to make you feel better?"

"As amusing as it would be, no, I'd rather you didn't." Still, I cracked a smile. He was easy to talk to. "You should've been a mercenary. You've the sense of humor."

"As I told you before, I am a knight. Knights do not have any sense of humor." He might have said more, but soldier jogged up then. They saluted and whispered something to Camus, too quiet for me to hear. Whatever it was, it made Camus sigh before he nodded and gestured for the soldier to leave.

"What happened?" I asked as the soldier disappeared. Camus didn't answer. "Bad?"

"It depends," he answered slowly. He glanced down at me. "Princess Nyna has been found. I am under orders to capture her."

"Capture?" That startled me. "Medy doesn't want her dead?"

"No, it was argued that she would serve as a martyr if she died now, especially since Prince Marth was confirmed to have escaped." He sounded almost relieved about that. "However, she's not allowed to have an Archanean bodyguard."

Oh, I got it now. "You're using a loophole."

"Yes." He was honest, at least. "You're a mercenary. To them, you wouldn't count."

"If it makes you feel better, I'm not a native of these parts."

"Really?" His eyes went to my hair, as gold as his, and I saw the question in his eyes. But, to his credit, he didn't even hint to asking it. "That will help, then. I imagine she'd be gladder to have you as a guard as opposed to one of mine. After all, we're involved in the death of her father."

"And this is why you chased after me."

"It's not the only reason." His smile was guilty. "But it was one, yes."

"It's fine." Honestly, it made me feel a bit better. It was hard to believe in simply someone's kindness, but if there was a selfish motive among the kindness? That was infinitely more believable. "So, you want me to come with you?"

"Please." He offered a hand to help me up, and I took it after hesitating a moment. He might be more believable, but I wasn't sure how much I actually _trusted_ him. Still, he let go as soon as I was standing and steady. "This way, they aren't far."

They really weren't. Whose bright idea was it to run this way with Princess Nyna? They had run further _into_ the palace, and into a section that was easy to surround. It might be different if there were a secret exit, but if they were caught, there clearly wasn't. Now wasn't the time to be secretive, after all. Their _princess_ was in danger.

Soldiers saluted as we passed, giving me curious looks, but giving Camus their utmost respect. I'd seen such things before, but never from knights. It was the look of someone who had truly _earned_ respect. It was almost a shame that Camus was technically part of the enemy. If he'd been the one defending Archanea, I doubted Dolhr would've gotten this far.

We stopped at a door, and Camus knocked on it. I wondered why it wasn't locked, but then saw that the door was actually damaged. It couldn't lock; the knock was just him being polite.

"Listen well, Archaneans," Camus said authoritatively. "I am Camus the Sable, captain of the Grustian knights, leader of the Sable Order. I respect your prowess in battle, but further bloodshed is of no value to you or I." He gestured to the soldiers, urging them back. "May I request that you lower your weapons? I wish to speak to you, and carry no weapons on my person. I swear, upon the honor of Grust, I will not deceive you."

There was no answer, so Camus glanced at me. I saw the silent suggestion and stepped back, giving him a bit of space just in case he had to defend himself unarmed. Only then did he open the door.

"Die!" As expected, as soon as the door opened, someone flew out, dagger in hand. But they weren't used to ambushing, especially with knives, so Camus easily knocked them to the side. "Ugh…" As they collapsed, I saw their face and knew who it was instantly. Midia. I supposed Astram tried to teach her a few tricks. Emphasis on 'tried'.

I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes. If she'd done that to anyone but Camus, I had little doubts they'd all be dead. As it was, the gathered soldiers were ready to strike them down, and it was only Camus's silent command that kept them back. What idiots. Who went around shouting 'die' anyway? She might've done better if she'd been quiet. Maybe.

"I see Archanea's paladins are fond of dishonorable tactics," Camus noted dryly. I bit back a snicker. "To ambush an unarmed foe…" He brought up his empty hands for emphasis. "Not only is the army so disappointing, but even the knights have no pride? No wonder the kingdom fell." I could get to like him.

"As if you're one to talk of pride!" Midia spat. Her eyes blazed with hatred and fury. "Your country betrayed Archanea and degraded itself as Dolhr's slave! You're nothing but the captain of Dolhr's dogs!" She tossed her knife to the side and stared at him defiantly. "Well, enough of this. Go ahead! Kill me! You don't need to hold back!"

"I have no intention of killing you." Camus sighed, looking as if he was fighting off a headache. "You should watch where you toss weapons. Your princess has an idea in her head now." I almost asked what he meant, but the small scuffle in the room soon made it clear. Princess Nyna had tried to use the knife to kill herself to avoid capture. "Not only the knight, but the princess as well. Are all Archaneans this irresponsible? In Grust, this kind of behavior is reserved for spoilt children."

"Any reason why you're being harsher to her than you were me?" I asked as a bishop struggled to take the knife from Princess Nyna. "You were rather understanding before."

"I'm gambling," he whispered. He continued to look impassive. "I didn't need to gamble with you."

"But what is your wager?" If you were gambling, you had to make a bet. I didn't see what it was. Unfortunately, he was interrupted before he could answer me.

"Insolent cur!" Princess Nyna snapped. The knife was out of her hands, but she still held herself proud, despite sitting on the ground. "On what grounds are you calling me irresponsible? And what do you mean by spoilt?!"

"You're not helping the impression," Camus pointed out. Her only response was to glare. "You are a member of royalty. Now that your king has passed, you must shoulder responsibility of Archanea. Wishing to throw your life away without considering the consequences… please, spare me such selfishness. What would become of the people you would leave behind? Do you truly intend to throw away your responsibilities?"

"How dare you lecture me!" Her voice cracked. "You killed Midia's parents! Y-you drove my father to his death! You are in no position to-!"

"Forgive me for what I am about to say, but your father was a failure of a king." The words were blunt, no-nonsense, and certain. He might as well have been saying that the sky was blue. "He drowned in pleasure, neglected politics, ignored his allies, and abandoned his people. He is the one who drove your people to the abyss of despair, and he is the reason why Archanea ultimately fell." He paused, to see if Princess Nyna would say something, but continued when she remained silent. "He may have been a good father to you, but he was an incompetent king. My words are harsh, but they are the truth."

"…I thought so." She bowed her head. "I told father many times that we did not need so much, but he never listened. He insisted on living as we did." She shook her head then, almost violently, and glared up at him. "However, as you said. Archanea has fallen. What, then, do you suggest I do, in your oh-so-infinite wisdom?"

"At the least, Medeus does not yet want you dead, Princess." Camus's demeanor softened slightly. "So, you must continue to live on, to your fullest, and bring hope to your people. I've heard your people love you. They will look to you as they struggle to recover."

"I suppose I must." Princess Nyna sighed, glancing solemnly at the others in her group. Now that I looked, I saw it was not only Midia and that bishop, but two armored knights and an archer. I wondered briefly who they were before deciding that I didn't need to know. "And what of you? Are you my jailer?"

"I have been named the commander of the occupation army here, yes." Camus knelt, then, to look Princess Nyna in the eye. "I am no politician, but watching this desolate land brings me pain. I would like to help it recover, as best as it can. Might I ask for your assistance in this, Princess Nyna? Will you rebuild Archanea, together with your people?"

"…Very well. I shall give you the benefit of the doubt." Her eyes narrowed. "But do not think that my hatred simply disappears because you can speak nicely."

"If you wish to take my life, then you may have it at anytime, if that is what it takes to satisfy you."

"Killing you won't bring anyone back, so no, I think I shall simply suffer your company for now." A regal fierceness came into her eyes, and I was almost spellbound by it. Where had that come from? "However, one day, I shall gather the league's army and fight Dolhr. Should you stand in my way when that happens, I will give no mercy."

"Understood." Camus smiled suddenly. "I had thought your people adored you for your beauty, but it seems there's more to it than that."

"You speak rather impolitely, but I shall take the praise graciously."

"Ah, please excuse my rudeness." He laughed softly. "As a soldier from the borderlands, I can only manage this rustic manner of speaking."

"It's fine. I, too, must get stronger." Princess Nyna sighed. "I somehow doubt Midia will be allowed to guard me."

"You are correct." Camus stood, perfectly ignoring Midia's squawk of protest. "However, you need not fear. You will not have to suffer one of my men as your guard." He gestured to me, and I waved awkwardly as all eyes turned to me. Midia, in particularly, look startled. "She was captured earlier, and is quite skilled, killing many of my men."

"If that is the case, then she's perfect." Princess Nyna stood as well, and came over to me. She frowned for a moment before her eyes widened. "Wait, you're of the Wolf Pack, aren't you? The captain's sister?"

"I am, Princess Nyna," I replied. I kept my expression impassive and studied her. That fierceness had disappeared. She looked as she ever did, if a little more disheveled. But how she had reacted… now that caught my attention. I wondered if that was Camus's wager. It made me curious. "And, for now, I am your bodyguard."

"Thank you very much," Princess Nyna murmured. She smiled sheepishly. "I am afraid, though, that I do not remember your name. I'm sorry. I can be horrible with names sometimes."

"It's fine." It wasn't like the two of us had really met before. "I'm sure Midia barely knows my name either, and we've actually interacted a bit thanks to Astram." I finally let myself smile. "You may call me 'Diana', Princess Nyna. I look forward to working with you."

* * *

 _Records on Diana_

· _A 17-year-old mercenary who has served with the Wolf Pack for five years._

· _Has an unusually high resistance to magic for a fighter, leading to speculation that she might have originally been a magic user prior to joining the Wolf Pack._

· _Favors swords because they let her adapt quickly to changes_

· _A runaway noble who was found by Charles when she was close to dying. It's unknown where she's from or why she ran, but her coloring suggests she's Grustian._

* * *

Author's note: And here is our other prologue, and our other POV char, Diana. She's a mercenary who was hired by Archanea prior to its fall. This chapter is based off of the first 'episode' of the BS: Fire Emblem 'game'. The game consist of four episodes, each set prior to the beginning of the main game (or, in the case of Shadow Dragon, between the normal mode prologue and chapter 1). They were later remade for FE12, though they could only be unlocked after you completed the prologue there, iirc. In fact, Camus and Nyna's conversation is taken directly from there.

Since we have our second POV char, a point I'd like to emphasize. Since there are two POV chars, there will be two 'storylines' for the first few chapters, until Kris and Diana actually group up (or, rather, until Marth joins Nyna during the main game).

Next Chapter – Interlude, Exile


	3. Interlude - Exile

Interlude - Exile

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _Altea's fallen. That, in of itself, was weird as hell. But the fact that I escaped, with the last known member of the royal family and his knights? That was weirder than hell. I have no idea what's going on, or what is going to happen._

 _I'm just a thief with a bit of magic, or a mage with a talent for stealing. I wish I had killed my conscience. This is all its fault._

* * *

When you were on a ship, there was one thing that instilled absolute terror: the crew freaking out.

"We've got trouble!" Everyone was scrambling, shoving us this way and that. Marth and I ended up thrown into the railing of the deck as the ship rocked. "Damn it! Looks like they caught up!"

Marth and I dragged ourselves up and saw there were other ships trying to surround us. Black sails and dark wood made them look like something from a child's nightmare. We looked at each other, not quite comprehending what was going on. Who were these people? Why were they surrounding us?

"You need to go!" "Our horses can't come with us!" "Leave the armor! My men will wear it to be bait!"

Marth winced at the word 'bait', and I thought of Frey, who we left to die. The ship rocked again, and I saw someone on one of the other ships aiming what looked to be a fireball.

Automatically, I cast a thunder spell, intercepting the fire magic and striking the hull of the other ship. It blackened, cracked, and broke, taking on water as people shrieked in terror. I heard them even as our ship took advantage of the sudden hole in the guard and caught a current and wind that sent us sailing into freedom.

I heard them later as I puked up my guts, when I realized what I did. I'd killed those people. They were dead, drowned, and it was my fault. I killed them.

Marth sat next to me, rubbing my back and holding back my hair. He never told the others that the thunder had come from me, when everyone wondered why one ship suddenly started sinking. I never told either. It was our secret.

* * *

The rest of the trip was relatively peaceful, though I was sick for the rest of it. Marth lied and said it was seasickness, and he sat with me as I rested and tried not to throw up again.

When we arrived at Talys, two people were waiting for us, a man with white-streaked blue hair and a young girl who looked just enough like the man that I thought they might be related. They both waited for us, even though there was a fierce storm and the rain was downright bruising.

"Prince Marth," the man greeted. He knelt to look him in the eye. I almost felt like crying when I saw how gentle he seemed; he reminded me of Grandfather. "I am Mostyn, king of Talys. I wish we could have met in better circumstances."

"Thank you very much for giving us sanctuary," Prince Marth replied. His words were wooden, and I thought that everything finally caught up. We were on foreign soil. Altea was gone. "I… appreciate it."

"I'm sure you'd appreciate a warm bath and a bed even more." Mostyn stood and gestured to the girl. "This is Caeda, my daughter. She's a year younger than you." The girl smiled sweetly, and walked up. Only then did I realize she was holding what looked to be woven necklaces. "She insisted on giving you all a Talysi welcome gift."

"You're our guests, and the necklaces are supposed to bring good fortune and better dreams," Caeda explained. She fitted the first necklace around Marth's neck and smiled. I almost laughed when I realized Marth stared at her like she was something otherworldly. "I'm not sure of what all is going on, but I hope your stay is comfortable." She gave us all necklaces, and then Mostyn led us to what he called the 'eastern villa', where warm baths, clean clothes, and even things for the horses waited.

I passed out while taking a bath, the heat making me too dizzy. I was told Norne got me wrapped up in a towel, and Cain carried me to bed. I avoided them both for a few days after that, far too embarrassed.

* * *

At some point after we settled in, Caeda appeared on a pegasus, with a mercenary bodyguard in tow. She cheerfully introduced him as Ogma, and just as cheerfully gave us the story Mostyn was using to cover for who Marth was. He took advantage of the shared hair color to say Marth was a distant relative who had been displaced by the chaos, and that the rest of us were friends who managed to escape with him.

Whether or not Ogma actually believed the story, he took it in stride, and mentioned that Mostyn had asked him to teach Marth some swordsmanship. Marth jumped at the chance, and soon, Marth and Ogma were training in the courtyard, where Caeda cheered them on. I watched them from the window, frowning at how 'jagged' Marth's movements were. It didn't fit the pretty boy prince I was used to.

"Ah, there you are." Jagan walked up then, and joined me by the window. "How are you?" he asked, peering at me curiously. "Has your seasickness abated?"

"I think so," I answered with a shrug. I continued to look outside, noticing how _green_ everything was. "Things are still weird, though."

"Yes, they are." He fell silent, and I knew he wanted to ask something he thought might be 'sensitive'. "May I ask what you were doing in the palace?"

"I'm a thief. I was there to steal." There was no point in lying. "It's not my normal work, but the guard was bad."

"Normal work?"

"I typically picked pockets and did roof work." It was a lot easier, and quieter, than plotting out a heist. "But, like I said, the guard was poor. You probably had a lot of things stolen over the last few weeks."

"I see." He paused again. I continued to study the horizon, noticing how different everything looked. "Have you always been a thief?"

"No." My voice was clipped. "No one is _born_ a thief. Most become that to avoid some really bad fates." I glared up at him. "Knights protect the king. You never protected the people who needed the help."

"What fate did you want to avoid?" He didn't seem bothered by my barb.

"Starving, and being surrounded by people who thought they knew my pain after Grandfather died."

"Who was your Grandfather?"

"...His name was Maclir." I heard him gasp at the name. I knew he would. Grandfather was a retired knight, who left the frontlines after a terrible leg injury. "I'm tired. I'm going back to bed."

I ran, and didn't stop until I reached my room, even as Jagan called after me. I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to even think about it.

* * *

Ogma taught Marth every other day, while Jagan handled other lessons on the off days. I was invited to those other lessons, maths and history and the like, but I didn't want to deal with shit like that, so I avoided them. Instead, I wandered the grounds, looking for all the secret ways in and out. I hadn't found many yet, but it wasn't from a lack of trying.

Grunting caught my ear, and I meandered over to see Cain practicing in a courtyard. I watched him for a while in silence, noticing a desperation to his swings. But when I noticed the blood hitting the ground, I ran to get Abel before Cain bled to death.

Much later, when I was heading back to my room, I heard sobs and hunted down the source. Just as earlier, Cain was the source, and he was crying, whimpering names that I thought might be of the dead. I knew I was right when I heard him whisper, "Frey, I'm so sorry…".

I quietly got Abel again, and left him to cheer up his friend. It wasn't like I knew how to comfort anyone.

* * *

Marth and Cain weren't the only ones who trained. The sight of Abel practicing both on foot and on horseback was common in the morning, right after breakfast. Norne and Gordin quickly set up practice targets for their archery, and were out every day, shooting until their hands blistered and bled. When Draug wasn't practicing with his lance, he was lifting weights, and Jagan kept an eye on everyone while practicing as much as his old joints would let him.

At some point, I decided to go off and practice too, mostly because I felt out of sorts. At least when I practiced magic, I felt like I had some control of the world.

But I often had to stop, as sometimes when I cast a spell, I heard the shrieks of the people I had drowned. Whenever that happened, I couldn't sleep until I just passed out, and I barely ate, because my stomach was in knots.

If the others noticed, they didn't comment on it. I wondered if that was a good thing or bad thing.

* * *

Sometimes, when I couldn't sleep, I'd make my way to a hill not far from the Villa and lie in the grass, looking at the stars. Grandfather once tried to show me different constellations to try and navigate, but I'd never paid attention. I'd been too focused on whatever sweet he'd given me.

Footsteps caught my ear, and I leaned up to see Marth approach. He paused when he saw me looked, but came to my side when I waved him forward. "You come here often," he whispered as he sat next to me. "I see you leave through my window."

"Shouldn't you be sleeping and not stalking, pretty boy?" I replied, lying back down. I was too tired to put any heat into the words. "You'd think you were ten people with all the work you do."

"I have to get stronger." The words were fierce. "I have to become stronger, to protect my people and to…" He fell silent, refusing to say the last bit.

But I remembered his swordsmanship and took a guess. "You 'have' to take revenge on Jiol. He killed your father and your soldiers. His soldiers killed Frey. No one knows what happened to your mother or your sister. But you lost everything because he chose to betray."

"Exactly!" His eyes burned with hatred. "I have to fight and kill him. For the sake of everyone, I must-!"

"Then what?" I pushed myself up and looked right at him. "What happens when you kill him?" I waited, but he gave no answer. He simply stared, looking a little lost. "Doesn't he have family?"

"He has a daughter, Sheema." He softened slightly. "She's nice."

"Will she be so nice if you killed her dad?" There was no answer. "Grandfather always taught me that revenge always gets you more trouble than it's worth. Jiol might need to die." I grinned. "But come on, idiot. Wouldn't it be far more hilarious to have him live with the knowledge that he owes _you_?"

"Owes me?"

"He killed your dad. He's probably trembling even now at the idea of you coming back to kill him." I snickered. "Think of all that terror he feels, and then think of the look on his face if you spare his life!"

"...It is… a bit funny…" His own laugh was a little broken. "But it hurts."

"Yeah, well, death sucks." I poked his cheek, smiling as he made a face. "But you also have a promise to keep to Frey. Are you happy?"

"...No." He sighed and fell back to sprawl in the grass. "Do you know how to read the stars to navigate?"

"Nope!" I fell back too. "Do you?"

"Yeah, but I'm better at being able to read the weather." He babbled about how to do that. I didn't pay attention, just let him talk. I thought, more than anything, he just needed to 'be' for a while, and it seemed like I was the only one of the Alteans who let him.

* * *

It became habit to meet out on that hill once the stars came out. It also became a place to train. He'd practice some of the tricks Ogma taught him, while I pointed out things like how he was putting too much force into certain tricks or how he put too much weight on one foot and unbalanced himself. I'd practice my spells, while he made sure nothing caught on fire, and rubbed my back when the shrieks echoed through my head again.

"You've been working harder than normal," he observed one night. He crouched next to me, passing me some water to rinse out my mouth. I'd almost thrown up. "Any reason why?"

"Well, I need to keep up with you," I answered. I passed back the water and stood up, rolling my shoulders. "I seem to be the only one willing to call you an idiot. I can't keep doing that if you're way ahead of me."

"Thank you, Kris." He smiled softly. "It's a relief to hear that someone is keeping me in check."

"Nah, I just like calling people out." I turned away, feeling a little lighter than I had before. "You better move, though. This spell can get out of hand."

"Of course."

* * *

At some point while we were picking apples from the nearby groves, I realized all at once that it had been a whole year since Altea fell. I was a year older. We all were. But everything about it felt so distant, like the fall had happened to someone else. It was like I'd read one of Grandfather's books, and gotten very into the story, but ultimately, the protagonist wasn't me. I could step away.

Yet as I washed my hands in the river, I focused on my blue hair and remembered the child who had died because he happened to have the same color hair as Marth. I remembered the confusion and terror as Frey walked to his death with his head held high. I still didn't understand, and I felt lesser for not being able to.

Later, in my room, I started making some of my 'gifts' again, for the first time since we arrived. No matter how much I focused, I thought of the group of thieves I'd been with that day and wondered if they all really died. A year ago, I had shrugged off the possibility and told myself it wasn't my problem. Now, I was still convinced it wasn't my problem.

But damn if I didn't wonder if I could've done something anyway.

* * *

Caeda started coming by a lot more after that year anniversary. She and I ended up sparring a lot, mostly to practice our dodging skills. Neither of us were very strong, so we couldn't wear heavy armor to protect us like the knights.

We also just ended up talking about nothing and everything while we took breaks. She was a friendly girl, and it was hard to be serious when she was determined to get someone to smile.

"So, I was thinking about making Marth some food for his next lesson," she chattered, giggling as we toweled off. "Do you know what foods he likes?"

"He's interested in Talysi traditions, so just make him something unique to here," I answered, giving her a curious look. "You can cook?"

"Yes?" She laughed. "I might be a princess, but Talys is small. I'm always running about like a tomboy."

"What's wrong with that?" I shrugged. "Who gets to decide what a 'proper girl' is supposed to do anyway?"

"Precisely!" She clapped her hands, pleased that I was apparently on her side. "Oh, right, food. You want to help?"

"I am terrible at cooking."

"That's fine. I'll teach you!"

Even with Caeda's best efforts, by the end of the day, the best thing that could be said about the food I made was that it didn't taste entirely like steel. It was pretty lame, but at the same time, it was also a lot of fun.

* * *

Cain and Abel often sparred. Apparently, Frey would often serve as the mediator, but since he was dead, someone else had to fill in. Somehow, that ended up being me most of the time.

"And stop!" I yelled, as I noticed both of them were starting to flag. "That's enough for the day."

"We can keep going!" Cain protested. He was barely able to stand with how much he swayed, and Abel was little better. "Can't we, Abel?"

"You might be able to, but that doesn't mean you should. What would you do if we got ambushed?" Talys had been besieged with more pirate attacks lately. "Come on. It's time to treat your bruises."

"...Fine…" He sighed and sat down, stripping off his shirt so that I could get the balm on. I didn't worry about Abel; Norne had hung around after her own practice to help out. "Sorry."

"I'm used to you knights by this point." I frowned as I noticed a couple of particularly nasty bruises. "You might need to get some of these looked at by an actual healer, like what's-his-name in the nearby village."

"Wrys." Cain shook his head and accepted the towel I passed him. "I'm fine."

"Of course you are." I paused as I realized one particularly bad bruise was right over a nasty patch of scars. They were all that was left of the injuries he took from that day. "Are you okay?"

"I just said-"

"I wasn't talking about the bruises." I rested my hand on the scars for emphasis. "Do you cry anymore?"

"No, I ran out of tears months ago." He hesitated before whispering, "it all still hurts. But I have to keep going, for all of them."

"You're strong." I smiled. "I ran away when I lost everything."

"...No, you survived." He looked right at me. "You lived. That's better than most."

"It wasn't exactly a 'honorable' life."

"But that life saved our prince." His serious look softened with a smile. "It was no knight that saved him. It was you, a mage and a thief. I think you're amazing."

"...Are you trying to flatter or flirt?" I rolled my eyes and told myself I wasn't blushing. "Hold still. The bandage is slipping."

* * *

Gordin and Norne improved their skills dramatically over the course of a year. I could tell as I watched them practice, noticing they were not only more accurate, but also a lot faster. I noticed that Norne was easily the faster of the two, but Gordin's arrows went deeper. They seemed to have a playful rivalry with it, and both of them had an intense love of teasing the shit out of Draug whenever he ventured near.

"Kris!" Caeda ran up then, giggling and beaming. "Kris, guess what?" she gushed, barely stopping before she ran into me. "I asked Marth if he'd come to the festival with me and he agreed!"

"Which festival is this again?" I asked, turning to face her. Talys had a lot of festivals, mostly as an attempt to balance out all the various cultures of the islands. "It's not the harvest, right?"

"No, that's later. This is the Water Festival!" She clapped her hands. "I'll make you another seashell necklace!"

"I look forward to it." I paused as I remembered a rumor circulating through the village. "Isn't that the festival where the girls ask their crushes?"

"Ack, you know about that?!" Her face went bright red, and she only went redder as I burst into laughter. "Please tell me Marth doesn't?"

"Even if he did, he'd probably just assume you asked to have a friend during the more formal things." I kept on laughing as she looked a little put out by that. "What? Do you want me to clarify to him?"

"Don't you dare!" She was back to being embarrassed. "Please? I'll bake you cookies!"

"I'll take that bribe!" Still, I was crying from how hard I was laughing. "What do you even like about pretty boy anyway?"

"Well, he's nice and sweet and caring and…" She went off, clearly enthused, and I was stuck listening to all of Marth's supposed virtues for a mark, pointing out his flaws just to hear her squawk.

* * *

Somewhere around a year and a half after Altea fell, we heard the most startling thing. Nyna of Archanea, long thought trapped in her own palace or even dead, was suddenly in Aurelis. Even more surprisingly, she openly called for aid against Medeus, urging the continent to rise up from the ashes.

"We should go," Marth insisted. His fists were clenched at his side, and he looked tense enough to burst. "Do we not have a duty?"

"We do not have the strength," Jagan refused, shaking his head. He looked older than ever as the moonlight streamed through the window. They'd been arguing all day. "We have to wait."

"And while we wait, countless die!"

"More will die if you are reckless."

Marth didn't reply to that. He just stormed off, slamming the door shut behind him. Jagan sighed, shaking his head.

"He hurts," I whispered, looking at Jagan. He simply nodded. "He hurts a lot."

"He must toughen his spirit and heart if he's to survive this war," Jagan whispered, shaking his head. "Until he realizes this-"

"You'll be better off killing him." My own words were sharp, far sharper than I intended. "He's not Cornelius. He's kind, and he recognizes people as people, not numbers. He's a bleeding heart, and a naive fool. But that's the person Frey died for, not whatever you think he must be, and that's the person Marth needs to _stay_."

I stormed out too, though I didn't bother shutting the door behind me. I had no idea who was more confused by my defense for Marth: Jagan or me.

* * *

"There's word that the pirates have joined up with Dohlr," Ogma murmured. He and Marth had just finished their lessons, and Caeda and I had come to bring them some snacks. "Dolhr seems to have redoubled their efforts to take Aurelis now that they know Princess Nyna is there. It won't be long before the war reaches here."

"What will you do, Ogma?" Caeda asked. She remained perfectly calm, even as Marth and I exchanged alarmed looks at the thought of war. "I know Father will surrender. I don't like it, but we don't have an army." She gave Marth a smile, though, as if to say 'but Father will protect you always'. It strangely wasn't comforting. "I know you're tired of fighting."

"I am, but I am in your employ, Princess." Ogma smiled softly at her, and she beamed at him. "So, I suppose I'd just guard you from whatever hare-brained thing you come up with."

"I am not a rabbit!" She pouted before clapping her hands and pulled something from her pocket. "Oh, Marth, before I forget!" She pulled out a headband from her pocket, one that sparkled gold in the light. "Here, I got this for you." She shifted to put it on him, and I was startled by how much it looked like his diadem, the one Frey took as part of his disguise. "It's supposed to bring good luck."

"Th-thank you, Caeda," Marth mumbled, smiling softly. I saw the sadness in his eyes, and knew he thought of Frey too. "But what is it for? Did I miss a holiday?"

"Can I not simply give you a gift?" Caeda huffed, sulking. She softened as Marth scrambled to panic. "No, you didn't miss a holiday. I found it in the market, and thought it would look nice on you."

"Oh, I see." Marth's face turned a little red. "Then, let me say 'thank you' properly."

"As always, you're too formal."

Ogma shook his head and left then, heading down the path. I took one look at Marth and Caeda, noted how red their faces were getting, and promptly followed him as he left.

"You didn't need to leave too," Ogma noted when he saw I was following. "I've just got duties to tend to."

"Oh, I did need to. I'm giving the lovebirds some alone time," I deadpanned with a shrug. "There's only so much sweetness I can take before I start vomiting."

"Of course." He gave me a curious look. "Though, one can't help but wonder if there's jealousy involved."

"Who would I be jealous of?" Now I was the one confused. I scowled as he started laughing. "What?"

"Nothing. I just think your little trio is entertaining." He shrugged and continued on. "Ah, I'm getting old."

"Of course you are, old man." Still, I couldn't help but frown as he walked. "Ogma?"

"Hmm?"

"You sure you're tired of fighting?" I couldn't help but ask and, to his credit, he only seemed curious as he turned back and waited for me to continue. "I'm just wondering if you're actually tired of not being 'used'." I caught up with him, mostly so I could try to study his expression. But he was stoic. "You're a mercenary, a warrior, and while you do like guarding Caeda, there's a part of you that longs to fight in one glorious battle under the command of someone you knew would 'use' you well. Caeda can't do that; she adores you too much."

"What makes you think all of that?"

"My grandfather always said that you can see a person's true soul through how they wielded their weapon." I shrugged, ducking my head. I felt like an idiot. "Of course, he was an old man who rambled, so maybe he was full of shit. But when I watch you train, I see that, as well as old, old pain."

"You're a strange girl." He ruffled my hair as if I was a child. "Keep sharpening your insight. You'll need it."

It didn't escape me that he didn't react to my words. But since it was Ogma, I knew I'd never get an answer.

* * *

Marth wore that headband every day. He seemed more confident with it on, and more like a prince. I noticed the others look at it, and knew they were reminded of how, in Altea, he wore a diadem of a similar color. Whether Caeda had meant it or not, that headband reminded everyone of the ultimate goal. We were going to return home, and take it back.

"Everything is becoming more chaotic," Marth whispered. We were doing our nightly training exercises, but he'd stopped in the middle to look out to the horizon. "There are more pirate attacks by the day, and the rumors from the mainland just get darker."

"It honestly doesn't seem like it'll be long before the pirates get to be more than Ogma and the rest of the royal guard can handle," I agreed. I had overheard Ogma actually ask Jagan to consider moving some of us into the palace, just for extra guards. "War is coming here."

"Yes, it is and I don't want Talys to suffer as Altea has." He glared at the stars, with eyes that burned with determination. "I will not let this peaceful place become drowned in war." He looked to me. "What of you? What do you think?"

"I'm with you." I smiled wryly. "Rather, you're stuck with me."

"I can think of no one better to be at my side." He paused and then coughed awkwardly, determination fading for gentle awkwardness. "Wait, that came out wrong."

"It's fine. I know you didn't mean romantically." I grinned, knowing just the way to make him yelp. "After all, I've seen the longing looks you've been giving Caeda~"

"There have been no longing looks!" He went bright red. "Oh, gods, please tell me there aren't!"

I just laughed in reply, and laughed harder as he continued to protest. He was a silly prince, but damn it, at some point these past two years, he became 'my' silly prince.

Ugh, this was lame. But I couldn't quite regret it either.

* * *

Author's note: So, this chapter represents the 'two years' between the Shadow Dragon's prologue and Chapter 1 of the main game. So, for reference, Marth is 16, and Kris is 17. Ogma giving Marth sword lessons is based off of the manga, as is Caeda giving Marth hairband meant for good luck. Mostyn's name is never mentioned in game, and comes from supplementary materials. Sheema is a character from FE3/FE12. Caeda trying to teach Kris how to cook comes from her FE12 base conversations with the Avatar.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Castle


	4. Interlude - Castle

Interlude - Castle

* * *

 _Archanea has fallen, the Sable Order rules, and I'm now the personal bodyguard of Her Royal Highness, Princess Nyna of Archanea. Not bad for a mercenary, and it only cost me some injuries and my brother._

 _I'm too numb to feel anything. I like it. Makes it easy to keep my promise._

* * *

"How much did my father pay you anyway?" Princess Nyna asked one day as we stayed in her room. Sir Camus had his Sable Order cleaning the castle of shattered glass, blood, corpses, and other things. Like entrails. The dining room was a particular mess. "Knowing him, I doubt it was much."

"Technically, he didn't pay me anything," I answered, brushing her hair. I'd gotten tired of watching her try to do her own hair; it was obvious she'd never done it before. "Contract didn't even have a down payment."

"That's…" She held still as I twisted her hair up in a ponytail and only once I stepped away did she shake her head. "That's horrible."

"It's common. That's why you have a bunch of employers who use mercenaries as shock troops." I crossed my arms. "Your father was no different."

"...The people cheered when we went out on parade." She ducked her head. "During festivals… during speeches… we lived too luxuriously, but surely…"

"He had control of the army, and the knights served him." I debated and then decided against telling her about the 'Right of First Night' that her father had allowed. I'd heard that some very high ranking nobles had joined in, particularly Duke Lang. "You don't want to anger the person who can legally order your home razed."

"...Did he order that?" Her voice was soft and fragile. "Did he…?"

"No." I tried not to grimace at how relieved she looked. "He didn't care enough."

"I see." The conflicted look on her face hinted she wasn't sure if that neglect was better or worse. "I…" She glanced out the window and suddenly stiffened, eyes wide and hands shaking.

The change was so abrupt that I moved behind her to peer out the window too, and it didn't take me long at all to figure out what had her so pale. There, on the gates, in plain view of the window. were her parents' corpses, dangling from ropes that twisted and turned on the wind. It was clear, even from here, that rot had set in.

I closed the curtains, and led her to the bathroom, setting her by the basin. I knelt in front of her and waited until she focused on me before saying, "you stay here. I will be right back, so stay here."

She nodded, looking a little lost, and I left her there to get to Sir Camus. A quick word later, and the bodies were down, to be properly buried. The damage was done, though. She refused to have those curtains ever opened again, and as she slept, she screamed from the nightmares.

* * *

Some other nobles survived, and they fawned over Princess Nyna in a faux court. But most days, Princess Nyna actually spent her free time with the servants. She talked to them, listened to their stories, and tended to whatever injuries they had. It might have been to simply earn their loyalty, but a little kindness went a long way. It wasn't long at all before I felt comfortable leaving her alone in their company. I knew they'd brave Medy's own wrath in order to protect her.

So, instead, I snuck my way down into the prisons, checking on those Camus ordered to be kept prisoner. They were treated well, certainly better than I would've thought.

Midia, for instance, had a cell all to herself, with a real bed and rich blankets. She might have only had soup to eat, but it was a rich one and smelled amazing.

"You…" she whispered. Some part of her eyes were accusatory, but most of her was calm, even kind. I remembered how she'd once had a prejudice against mercenaries; it didn't surprise me that she would still be biased against them, even as she loved Astram with everything she was. At least she was _trying_ to change. It was better than most. "Are you well?"

"Yep," I replied, shrugging. I glanced around the cell, checking for anything that might seem 'off'. But, honestly, if not for the bars, I'd have called it a nice little room. "Looks like you're better than I'd been fearing."

"Yes, I'm well. I've been better, but I know how much worse it could be. I am, after all, a female warrior." Defeat was particularly 'disgraceful' for us. "I will admit that I dislike that Jeorge was carted off."

"Was he?"

"Yes. Though, to be fair, he'd nearly broken himself out. He was too bored." She laughed, a strangely fragile sound. "Damn him. He was always too smart."

"And Astram?"

"For now, he's 'free', but I've a feeling Princess Nyna and I are being used as hostages to keep him compliant." Her smile fell. "The rest of my group are fine. Bishop Boah is being treated very kindly on account of his age."

"Good to hear." I glanced down the hall as I heard footsteps. I had to leave. "Princess Nyna is fine."

"Thank the gods." She closed her eyes and smiled slightly. "Please, keep her safe."

"I will." After all, this was how I could keep my promise to Charles. "Try not to incite the guards to kill you before she takes back Archanea."

"I will."

I later told Princess Nyna that Midia and the rest of her group were safe. She cried tears of relief, and thanked me profusely.

* * *

Slowly, Nyna worked on winning the nobles. Even some who turned traitor begged her for forgiveness. Not all, of course. But some. Enough, at least, to brighten the air of the castle and make it less like a tomb.

But one traitor in particular did a lot of damage to her spirit. A landed knight named Horace, who had informed Sir Camus all the ins and outs of the castle. That was why they had been so effective.

"I don't understand," she whispered after another day of trying to meet with Horace to talk to him. She absently set some flowers other nobles had given her on a table and collapsed into a chair. "He was always so loyal…"

"That might be the problem," I replied. I set the flowers in a vase and absently began arranging them. "What do you do when you're stuck between two loyalties?"

"Take a third option?"

"What if the only third option is to die?"

"Make a fourth."

"Can you do that alone?" There was no answer. "What else has you shaking?"

"Pontifex Miloah is dead." Her eyes looked haunted, and I wondered why it had taken her so long to learn about that. He'd died in the initial battles. "No one knows what happened to his daughter, Linde."

"That's good news, Princess."

"How?"

"Because there's no way they wouldn't brag about having killed her." I shook my head and continued arranging the flowers. "She could be alive. I'd bet it."

"Is that _safe_?"

"No." I looked at her then. "But the world is at war. Nothing is safe."

"Of course." She turned her attention to the window, one that didn't show the gate. "Diana?"

"Yes?"

"Will you tell me about the Knorda Market?"

"Yes."

She had to ask me to pause twice in my description of the slave market and the gladiator 'games', mostly because she had to go throw up. But she insisted on me finishing, with eyes determined to listen to the end. I gained a lot of respect for her, that day.

* * *

After that day, Princess Nyna often asked me about the world. She asked me about the strained relationship Archanea had with the other countries. About my jobs. About battling and killing. I gave her the unvarnished truth about everything, leaving out no details no matter how gory. She was often sick, but she continued asking.

"Why do you want to hear any of this?" I finally asked her one day as I helped her clean up after a particularly bad bit of puking. "You know by now that I don't hold back."

"That's why," she answered fiercely. She coughed and spat out some water she was using to rinse her mouth. "I will lead the Archanean League. Soldiers will battle in my name. I want to know what led to this. I want to know what they will face, what I am choosing. I will not hide away in a fantasy world. I _owe_ them more."

"...Well, let's take a break for a bit." I helped her back to the 'main' part of her room and got her to sit down in a chair. "Too much throwing up is bad for your health."

"I… suppose." She looked a little frustrated. "But…"

"Don't rush. Rushing only leads to overextension and pain." I hesitated before poking her cheek, just like I would do with Charles. "There are other ways to prepare yourself."

"Like?"

"Talk to people. Ask them about their lives. Listen to them as they talk about their homes." I smiled slightly. "Take it from a mercenary who fights for a living. We fight a hell of a lot harder for people who seem like they care."

"And if I'm to show them, I best get practice in how to listen." She nodded reluctantly and suddenly became thoughtful. "Diana?"

"Yes?"

"Will you get General Camus for me?" She smiled bitterly at my surprised look. "Who better to practice on? I hate him. But if I can learn to listen to him, then I can learn how to listen to anyone."

I couldn't find a fault in the logic, so I went to get Sir Camus and dragged him back with me.

Their conversation was terse and awkward, but Princess Nyna was determined to listen, and slowly, Sir Camus realized how serious she was. I think she earned his respected then. My own respect certainly increased.

* * *

Sir Camus and Princess Nyna talked every afternoon, often over whatever tea I could make for them. Sometimes over her plans, sometimes over his life in Grust. While they talked, I explored the castle, gathering information on what was going on for both of them to discuss. Most of it was simply getting a feel for how the people were. Sir Camus had control of the castle, but not necessarily of all of Archanea. Dolhr was doing its best to destroy everything.

However, one day, I ran into Astram. Both of us stared at each other, almost dazed. It had been months since I'd seen him, and he looked haggard and far thinner than normal. I wondered how I looked to him.

Then, I decided I didn't care and nodded to him before stepping off the path to continue on my way.

"Diana." He called after me, though. "I'm sorry about Charles."

The words made me pause and I turned to face him. "I am too." I hesitated before whispering, "do you know why he stayed?"

"...Yes." He looked uncomfortable. "Do you want me to tell you?"

"No, it's fine." I shook my head. "It's enough to know that he told _someone_."

I walked away then, to return to Princess Nyna's rooms and make sure she and Sir Camus hadn't killed each other yet. I knew Astram watched as I walked away.

It was enough to know that he felt _guilty_.

* * *

At some point during their conversations, Sir Camus and Princess Nyna decided to have her walk through the castle town so that the people could see her and hold onto hope. Sir Camus would be with her as a visible guard, while I would remain in the shadows, ready to cover them both.

I spent the whole morning helping her get ready. I brushed her hair until it shone, put on her makeup to enhance her beauty without it being obvious she had it on, and dressed her in one of her former 'court dresses', a fancy thing of whites, golds, and blues. It was a little big on her, but I used some cords to make fancy belts and managed to hide how much weight she'd lost. It was important for her to look good. She would be judged by how pretty she appeared.

"You're good at this," she observed quietly as I secured her tiara into her hair.

I hesitated before replying, "I was born into nobility. I learned a lot about this."

"Oh?" Her eyes held the silent question, but when I shook my head, she nodded and smiled reassuringly. "Well, I'm quite lucky. I don't know how my maids managed all of this. If I ever see any of them again, I'll be sure to thank them profusely."

I didn't tell her that her maids had likely been raped and thrown to the dogs by Dolhr's troops before they left Camus in charge here. I didn't have to. She knew from my stories just what likely happened to them.

But she smiled and hoped anyway. I thought her brave for that.

* * *

By the time the year anniversary of Archanea's fall came, Princess Nyna's visits to the castle town became as regular as the sunrise. Most of the time, Sir Camus and I traveled with her. Sometimes both of us visible, sometimes neither of us, but most of the time he was the visible one and I was the hidden one. I was their silent, protective shadow.

On the exact day, Princess Nyna played with some children in the courtyard and taught them how to make flower crowns. Their mothers watched with fond eyes, and cheerfully said their farewells when it was time to depart.

When we returned inside, though, Princess Nyna looked ready to cry. "Did you see how _thin_ they were?" she whispered. She held up her hand, and I saw it shake. "Those poor children… I was so afraid I would accidentally snap their wrist!"

"It's not that hard to break a joint," I told her absently. The children had all given her flowers, and I was carefully pressing them in books for her. "Enough pressure in the 'wrong' direction…"

"Not the point." She sighed and looked out the window. "They left with smiles, even though they must be hurting. Why do they hold such faith in me?"

"...Because you are a child, Princess Nyna." I held her gaze as she looked at me. "Children can learn."

"I see." She nodded and frowned slightly. "Oh, that's right…"

"Hmm?"

"It's been a year since you lost your brother." Her eyes softened. "Are you okay?"

"...I'm as fine as I can be, Princess Nyna." I had no idea how to answer her. It all still hurt.

"I understand." She likely did. After all, today was also the day her parents died. "Nyna."

"Pardon?"

"Call me 'Nyna', please." She looked back to the window. "It seems silly for you to keep calling me by title when you're my friend."

"Others called you by title."

"But they were never honest." Her eyes flicked up to my reflection. "You are. You and Camus are the only ones who have always been honest with me."

I could hear the unspoken plea in the observation. "I will never lie to you, Nyna. You have my word, for whatever that is worth."

"To me, it's worth everything."

That night, I had a nightmare. It started with Charles's death and ended with Nyna's. I shook as I woke, and wondered why the nightmares were coming back.

* * *

Some bright day after the year anniversary, Sir Camus and Nyna had tea as usual, planning out their next town visit. Normally, I left them to it, but this time, I returned a little early. Though both seemed surprised to see me.

"Sorry, Nyna, I thought you'd want to hear this latest bit of gossip at once," I explained, leaning against the doorway. I noticed how close the two sat and wondered if it was purposeful or not. "And Sir Camus, you'll have to deal with Dolhr soldiers' bitching about it."

"That sounds wonderful," Sir Camus deadpanned. He looked so exasperated that both Nyna and I laughed. "What happened this time?"

"It seems that a certain famous sniper escaped Dolhr custody."

"A sniper?"

"You mean Jeorge!" Nyna exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight. Her eyes with glittering with amusement. "He's always been sharp and he knows how to put on a show to fool people."

"Oh, you mean the one that almost broke out of _here_ ," Sir Camus sighed. Still, he visibly fought off a smile, and I knew he was just as amused. "I'd best leave, then."

"Good luck." She waved him goodbye and returned to her giggling as I shut the door behind him. "Ah, Jeorge! I hope he remains safe."

"I'm sure he will," I reassured her with a smile. "He seems crafty enough. He'd do well as a mercenary, actually."

"I think he considered that option a few times, but he is the heir and so, duty ruled," she replied. She gave me a smile. "I think you and he would get along rather well." Her smile grew. "At least, I think I'd get a great amount of amusement watching you two interact."

"Maybe you'll get to see that."

"Maybe I will."

* * *

Nyna and Sir Camus spent a lot of time together. Their awkward, hateful start eased into a tentative friendship. Then, as their respect for each other grew, their relationship became a working partnership as they did what they could to ease Archanea's hurts. Between the large amounts of time spent together and the constant bits of kindness and admiration, I knew it was only a matter of time before feelings developed.

The possibility, however, didn't seem to occur to either of them. Not until one day when Nyna tripped on the way back from a trip to the town, and Sir Camus caught her. The two of them stared at each other, lost in their own little world for a single breath, before pulling apart, both blushing and stammering. Then they both fled, Sir Camus to his work, and Nyna to her room.

I followed her, of course, and found her pacing her room, flailing about as she screamed at herself.

"Isn't it so stupid?" Her voice cracked as she whirled to look at me at last. "I should hate him, yet I can't! Not when he is so kind, so honest! Not when he does what he can to _help me_!"

She started to cry, torn apart by this perceived 'betrayal' to her dead loved ones and country. I sat down on her bed and tugged her down so that she rested in my lap, and let her sob while I stroked her back and hummed half-forgotten lullabies in the hopes it would soothe her.

Later, after she fell asleep, I left to check on Sir Camus. I found him on a balcony on the opposite side of the castle, staring at the moon. He glanced briefly over his shoulder, to check who it was, and when he saw it was me, he returned his gaze above.

"Isn't it so foolish?" His voice was almost too soft to hear. "I protected her because I felt that would, ultimately, be what was best for Grust, yet now I…"

I rested my hand on his shoulder, and in the gesture, I gave him my silent reassurance. Just as I would keep Nyna's secrets, I would keep his. He needed that, just as much as she did.

* * *

One day, while Nyna was with the 'court ladies' and guarded by one of the Sable Order, Sir Camus invited me to share a drink, a mixed drink of cider and whiskey. It was a favorite in Grust. Things like that told me he had quite a few guesses about my past. But he never said a word. Instead, we talked of different things. How things were outside the castle. How the people were reacting to Nyna.

Then, suddenly, he whispered, "did you know there were two royal children?"

"Prince Yubello and Princess Yumina," I answered easily, sipping my drink. It was more cider than whiskey; he'd made sure it didn't hold a lot of alcohol because he knew I couldn't handle it. "Their mother died soon after giving birth to them."

"Yes, she did." He downed his drink, and I wondered just what he hoped to drown. "Today is the two year anniversary."

"...Of what?" It couldn't be of the Queen's death. The twins weren't _that_ young.

"Of Gharnef taking them hostage." The words were soft. "To ensure our 'cooperation'."

"Oh." I thought of them. They were very young. "I see." I could also see why he was drinking.

"They screamed." His eyes were lost in that day. "They screamed for their father, for me, for Lorenz. But the king would not help them, and Lorenz and I could not, pinned as we were. So, they were taken away, screaming and wailing, and I could do nothing." He laughed hollowly. "I am frequently called the strongest of warriors, yet I couldn't even protect my prince and princess. I couldn't protect those little children, not even ten years old, who looked at me adoringly."

"...That's why you don't go against." I looked him right in the eye. "It's not the king. It's not Grust, or at least, not entirely. You love Prince Yubello and Princess Yumina. You are terrified for them." I shook my head. "Though, you do… risk… by protecting Nyna."

"I know." His smile was a little broken, and I knew right then what was going on. He had many loyalties and a good heart, and they were in conflict. He was a knight in the 'truest' sense, and so he couldn't help but protect one of the people's greatest hopes, even as those he loved were in danger. But, even worse… was that he had many loves. He loved Nyna. He loved Prince Yubello and Princess Yumina. And now he was torn between them, because there was no way to protect them all. Not in this broken world.

That night, my nightmares showed Camus dying, ripped between Nyna's corpse and the skeletal remains of Prince Yubello and Princess Yumina, while I was helplessly pinned by Charles's dead body. When I woke, I was crying, and I realized just what had happened.

The heart I thought had turned to stone… it started to feel again, and it broke for me, for Nyna, and for Camus.

* * *

One day, another general of Grust came to visit. A man named Sir Lorenz. I knew of him. When I saw the missive he carried, I hid Nyna in a side room and stood outside it, just in case.

Luckily, though, Sir Lorenz didn't seem to care about her or me. He marched right up to Camus and handed him the paper. "Apparently, they decided you couldn't conveniently never see me," he rumbled. Camus eyed the paper warily and sighed. "You knew this was coming. Medeus wants her dead."

"I answer to Grust, not Dolhr," Camus replied firmly. He pointedly held the missive over a candle and let it burn. "That's all."

"Camus, I fear for _you_." Sir Lorenz's voice was a quiet rumble. "You are like a son to me."

"I know. I am forever grateful for the mentorship and affection you have given me." Camus's smile was a little broken. I was grateful Nyna couldn't see it. "But this is what… I must do. I can't kill my own heart."

"I curse the day Ludwik sided with Dolhr." Lorenz sighed, shaking his head. "It's not right for the young to die because the old are too weak and cowardly."

"You have a good escape."

"I will not leave the burden solely on you. I make a better scapegoat than you, boy." He glanced at me, and his eyes widened slightly. "This is…?"

"Diana, a mercenary." Camus kept his voice firm, a clear declaration that Sir Lorenz was not allowed to ask for anything more. I hadn't been so grateful to a person since Charles saved me all those years ago. "She is Princess Nyna's guard."

"And hid the princess just in case I proved to be an enemy." Sir Lorenz nodded. He still looked curious, but there was some understanding there as well. "Smart. But there's no threat from me, I promise. I have to leave now anyway."

"So quickly?"

"I was tasked with this on the way to deal with a 'rebellion' in Altea." Sir Lorenz's face twisted at the sentence. I had a feeling the 'rebels' were going to conveniently escape. "Let her see me off. It'll make people think you read the damn thing."

I didn't move one bit until Camus nodded, and I didn't go to Sir Lorenz until I opened the door and waited for her reassurance. Even then, I waited until they were both walking down the hall before leading Sir Lorenz out of the room.

"Damn, they think they're being subtle, but they aren't," he muttered, watching the two of them disappear around a corner. "You don't walk that closely or lean into each other if you're not…" He sighed. "The gods are always cruel." He looked at me, and mentally debated something before nodding. "I know I have no right to ask you anything, but-"

"I protect Nyna first," I answered him, so quickly that I surprised even myself. "So, if I have to pick, I pick her. But if there's a chance to protect both her and him, I'll do that. However I have to."

"I'll work things on my end to get you that chance. It won't be hard. For all his faults, our king does truly adore Camus, and would plead for him."

I didn't ask why King Ludwik didn't 'plead' for Grust. I knew, as well as anyone, that King Ludwik of Grust stopped trying to be strong when his wife died, and I knew, as well as anyone, that no small part of him blamed his own children for her death.

* * *

A strange disturbance near the treasury changed a peaceful day into a weird one. Nyna and I, of course, went to go investigate, and saw there was a group of strangers with large bags of gold and gems in their hands. Camus was talking to them, quietly, and some of the Sable Order eyed them warily.

Nyna hummed a little in thought before turning to me. "Who are they?" she asked. "Any ideas?"

"Well, I'd guess they're thieves," I answered. I narrowed my eyes as I saw a swordsman in crimson garb lingering in the distance. "That's Navarre, though. One of the strongest mercenaries on the continent. Only one is said to be his rival."

"Really? Who?"

"Mercenary by the name of 'Ogma'. Last I heard, he was serving in Talys." More like he chose to join it after the princess there saved him from a death by whipping. "But that's neither here nor there."

"Ah, yes, you're right." Nyna frowned slightly. "But why is a cleric here?"

"That _is_ the question." I glanced at her. "Do you want to get closer?" I laughed softly when she grinned. "Come on then."

As we stepped around the Sable Order knights to approach the group, it was clear the sister's temper had snapped. "Ever since Dolhr invaded, life here has turned for the worst!" she argued. There was passion in her voice, and a devotion in her eyes. She was a 'genuine' cleric, one who loved helping the people. "Many have had their homes razed, lands stolen, and now, they suffer from hunger. Yes, we're here to steal, and gods forgive us for it, but there is no hope for even the children!" She looked almost defiant, almost self-righteous, but she managed to also appear perfectly calm. "General Camus! Do you take such joy in their misery? Are you nothing but a pawn who refuses to think?"

"...I suppose there is no better way to describe me," Camus murmured. He smiled almost bitterly. "Or a dog. I've been called that too."

"Camus, you're neither," Nyna snapped, glowering. Everyone turned to face us, and I waved when Camus gave me a 'why are you two here?' look before pointing to her. I laughed when he facepalmed. "I know both of you are sharing exasperation."

"Of you? Never." Camus gave her an innocent look. "What are you doing here?"

"Clearly, I'm here to remind you, once again, that you're being too harsh with yourself." She sighed. "Camus, you let me live as a princess. You defy Dolhr every day just my letting me have a little bit of freedom. I know that you despise Dolhr, perhaps even more than I do."

"And what do you suggest I do?"

"Turn a blind eye as you do with those messengers. Let them go."

"And what they stole?"

"It's from my treasury, right? Let them keep it to help my people." She smiled sweetly, and I could see the sister's eyes widen, as well as the rest of the group. "Get them somewhere safe?"

"...If it's an order from you, I suppose I have no choice." Camus sighed, shaking his head. "I'll will be gone for… a mark or so. To patrol."

"Of course. Safe travels." Nyna turned her attention to the others. "Thank you, very much, for taking care of my people."

"It is my job, and my pleasure," the sister murmured. She smiled back. "Please, stay safe. I shall pray for you."

Nyna kept her smile until they were all out of sight and the Sable knights dispersed. Only then did she let it fall. "Ugh…" she groaned, tilting her head back. "I know she meant it kindly, but I cannot help but feel the urge to laugh bitterly." She smiled sadly at me. "The gods have never seen it fit to answer my prayers, after all." I didn't ask what she prayed for. I wasn't sure she knew anymore. "They just seem to watch us from above, toying with us when they're bored. Giving us fates on whims."

"Fate is an excuse to the dead." I rested a hand on her shoulder. "We make our own paths, no matter what the gods throw at us."

"Is that what you did, when you left your old life?" The words were a question, but her tone made it clear she expected no answer.

But I gave one anyway. "Yes. I made my own path. But I wasn't alone."

"You had your brother."

"Yes, and the rest of the Pack, including the one I called 'Father'." I tightened my grip on her. "You aren't alone either."

"I know." She finally smiled warmly. "Thank you."

* * *

At some point, Camus and I started sparring against each other in the early mornings, while Nyna watched and read. I couldn't really remember how we fell into the habit, but we did, and it was a good way for both of us to keep in shape and to work out frustrations.

On one day, though, my nightmares had been particularly bad, and as I sparred with Camus, I found myself slipping into them, unable to tell what was 'real'. So, I swung harder than usual, and used dirtier tricks than normal. One particular swing was aimed for his groin, and when he sidestepped it, it landed on his leg. And as soon as it connected, he dropped like a stone, ashen from pain.

"Get some ice!" I ordered Nyna as I helped Camus up. She bolted before I even finished the sentence. "Easy, easy…" I got him to hobble over to a nearby bench and pressed against his leg. "Nothing broken…" I tried to think of why he'd drop, and came on the answer when I remembered the day Archanea fell. "The wound Charles gave you?"

"I think so…" he hissed, struggling to get his breathing under control. "Damn, that hurt."

"Clearly." I wondered how that could happen before wondering if he had scar tissue on a bundle of nerves. But even then, would that cause this? "Ha… he's causing trouble even when he's dead."

"He truly was a skilled warrior. Judging by you, I'd guess he was an even better brother."

"...Yes, he was." My eyes blurred, but I shook my head to be rid of them. "Nothing is broken, and I'm not really feeling any swelling."

"That's good to hear." He hesitated before bowing his head. "Please…"

"I won't tell a soul." I thought of something he said, two years ago. "You have my word, for whatever it's worth to you."

He laughed quietly before smiling. "That's quite a lot. Though, i have no idea how much mine is worth to you."

"Considering what you've proven over these past two years? It means quite a bit."

The look on his face told me that he appreciated that, far more than he could ever say. If Nyna hadn't returned with the ice when she had, I had a feeling he might have actually started crying.

* * *

Chaos completed erupted one day, and Nyna and I immediately headed to Camus to figure out what was going on. He didn't even bother to greet us when he saw us approach. Instead, he waited for us to stop and said, "The Dolhrian Army will be here soon, led by Medeus's personal guards." We all knew what _that_ meant.

"So, Medy's stopped playing around," I murmured, steadying Nyna as her eyes widened and she swayed from the shock. "Death?"

"Hostage, I think," Camus answered. His eyes, however, all but screamed that he didn't place much faith in Nyna staying 'safe' as a hostage. "A way to keep Archanea quiet."

"I… cannot be caught," Nyna whispered. She hugged herself and leaned into me. "I cannot. If I am captured, then it's all for naught."

"Precisely." Camus nodded. "Get yourself ready. We'll sneak you out and make for Aurelis to the north. Prince Hardin has proven skilled against the Macedonians there; he should be able to keep you safe."

"I…" Nyna hesitated before looking between us. "What will you two do?" She looked scared as Camus and I shared a look. "What will…?"

"I'm with you," I whispered. My heart ached at how relieved she looked. "I'll come with you. I won't leave you alone."

"Thank you, Diana…" she breathed, smiling sweetly. It faltered, though, as she focused on Camus. "And you?"

"I will help you escape," Camus answered. His posture was tense. "But… that is all. I will not come with you to Aurelis. I cannot betray Grust."

"But then you…!" She shook her head. "If you help me, they'll treat you as a criminal, a traitor! They'll kill you!"

"I remember telling you, Princess, that you could have my life at any moment." He shrugged. "It seems that moment is upon us."

"NO!" She broke from my grip to cling to his shirt. "No, I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for me!"

"...Ha…" Camus started laughing softly and carefully took her hands. He didn't pry them off him, but held them gently. "This reminds me of when we met."

"I… did yell at you then."

"Yes, you did. You also declared you would command Archanean League to topple Dolhr and Medeus. For that purpose, you have worked very hard these past two years." He pulled her hands off of him, but continued to hold them. "The people call you their 'White Rose'. You give them courage and strength." He looked at her very seriously. "Will you ruin all that you worked for? Just for a… a fleeting fancy?"

"...I get what you are saying." Nyna's eyes took a fierce light and she purposely twisted her hands to interlace her fingers with his. "But it's not a fleeting fancy. My feelings for you are not so weak, even if I am." Her voice cracked. "You and Diana… without either of you, I wouldn't have had anything to live for! So, don't… don't just…"

"Princess…" Camus sighed, and he nodded. "That's enough. I understand."

"Good." She hesitated, but pulled away, lingering as if scared he'd disappear as soon as she let go. "I'll go get ready." She ran, and I could see the tears in her eyes as she ran past me.

So, I gave him the most droll look I could manage. "That was cruel," I told him bluntly. He flinched slightly. "Calling it a fleeting fancy like that."

"She was trapped," he replied. His voice was hollow. "I was kind. It's not uncommon."

"That doesn't make them any less real."

"Realness doesn't mean it's _healthy_."

"Then what of your own feelings?" I waited for a response, but he didn't have one. He simply looked to the side. "You love her."

"...I am the one who slaughtered her home."

"I think she remembers that." My voice was very, very dry. "I remember how she felt such guilt for 'betraying' her parents, even as she smiled simply because you walked into the room. "I held up my hand as he tried to answer. "I get it. You don't want her to know the real reason you stay. You're scared for the hostages. I even get why you don't want her to know." I knew, just as well as he, that Nyna would risk _quite a lot_ to save the hostages. Not just because Camus loved them. She'd do it just because they were children in a bad situation. "It cannot be afforded. Not yet, anyway."

"You would need the full might of the continent to even have a chance."

"I know." I gave him a little glare. "But you… you need to stop living in guilt. It's not fair to anyone that you refuse any sort of happiness out of a twisted belief that you don't deserve anything because you 'failed'." I turned away, not expecting a reply. I knew he wouldn't have one that would satisfy either of us.

Before long, we were running. Camus, three of the Sable Order who managed to out-argue the others who wished to come too, Nyna, and me. All of us ran as fast as we could. Which wasn't very fast. Nyna and I were on foot on treacherous ground, and we did have our packs. Once we reached Aurelis, Nyna and I would be on our own until we found Prince Hardin.

It didn't help that Medy's guards were faster than we could've anticipated. They were on us before long. The three Sable Knights acted as decoys; I had no idea if they survived the experience or not.

So, when we reached the fortress that marked the border between Archanea and Aurelis, it was just Nyna, Camus, and me.

"You must go forward," he urged, dismounting to give his horse a break. The poor thing had worked itself into a lather. "I'll hold them here."

"Camus…" Nyna whispered. She was a breath away from crying, and only didn't because she couldn't cry _and_ run at top speed. "I… your fellows…"

"They made their choices, as I made mine." His words were firm. "But you _must_ escape." He reached into his saddlebags and produced a strange looking shield, one that made Nyna gasp. "I cannot give you back Gradivus. It is the one weapon I have on me that hasn't broken yet. But I can at least give you this."

"The Fire Emblem." Nyna hesitated at taking it, and she only did so after wrapping it in a spare cloak she had. Even then, she quickly handed it to me, like she couldn't stand the thing. "How did you get it? Surely, it was guarded."

"I might have asked a thief for assistance in exchange for a little more gold." His grin was almost boyish, like a child who pulled off a successful prank. "Though I think he got a friend of his to help." He shook his head as his smile faded. It was all too easy to hear the approaching army now. "Go. Stay safe."

"You too." She hesitated before surging forward, grasping his shirt, and tugging him into a kiss. Camus's eyes widened in shock before they closed, and his free hand wrapped around her tightly to hold her there a moment longer, tangling in her hair.

Then, they both let go and turned away. Nyna ran, and Camus stayed.

I lingered, though, and waited for him to remember there was an _army_ on the way. "Hey, Camus," I whispered when I had his attention. I made sure to look him right in the eye. "When we meet again, if you still love and she still loves you, then I will drag you to her side, kicking and screaming if I must."

"Are you…?" he began. But then he shook his head. "Of course you're serious. You always are." He gave me an exasperated look. "Shouldn't you be glad that I'm-"

"I'd never be glad if you die. You and Nyna made the mistake of making me feel again." I glared. "And my biggest fault has always been my loyalty. So, that's a promise."

I turned and ran, chasing after Nyna and letting Camus remain behind to fight the army chasing after us. I heard later that Medy himself came to deal with him.

* * *

It didn't take us long to find Prince Hardin of Aurelis, the Coyote of the Plains. Someone had sent him a message that Nyna would be escaping soon. He had no idea who, but the message was intriguing enough that he'd been patrolling the border for several days now. Nyna thought she recognized the handwriting, when she saw the note, but she couldn't place where. It didn't help that she ended up fainting not long after we made it to him. The strain of the escape had left her exhausted, and actually gave her a minor fever.

Prince Hardin tried to assign maids to her and me, but I chased them out, firmly declaring that _I_ was Nyna's guard, and I'd only allow the maids near if Nyna asked. He'd been startled by my vehemence, but didn't make a fuss. When Nyna recovered, the issue came up again, and Nyna whispered that she'd prefer to not have maids hanging on her every whim until Archanea was restored. It earned her their respect.

"This is the fifth dress the King of Aurelis sent over," I growled, balling up the thing and tossing it into the corner. "And he _still_ doesn't get my instructions!"

"It's amusing seeing you lose your temper over something so simple," Nyna laughed. She was resting in bed with some soup one of Prince Hardin's personal soldiers made. I hadn't caught his name, but thought it was 'Sedgar'. I wanted to make a point to learn their names. I couldn't remember the names of the Sable Knights. Not even the ones who helped us escape. "What's wrong with this one?"

"That shade of green would look _horrific_ with your hair!" I glared at the offending garment. "Maybe if it was an emerald green it would work. Emerald works well with most everything. But you'd look like someone vomited bile on you."

"That's a delightful mental image, especially considering I'm eating."

"You need to at least finish that bowl, by the way." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. It was shorter than I was used to now, mostly because another of Prince Hardin's knights, Roshea, had attacked me on accident, thinking I was an enemy. "Okay, I'm going to write a sternly worded letter and give him a description of _exactly_ what sort of of dress you need because clearly he needs the repeated reminders!"

"...Was I supposed to hear that?" The voice made me whirl, blade in hand and prepared to strike. Prince Hardin stepped back to avoid having his head chopped off. "I apologize," he murmured, unperturbed by having a blade pointing directly at his face. "You normally hear me."

"Your brother's poor fashion choices are driving me further into insanity," I deadpanned. I sheathed my sword and moved to Nyna's side, making sure her robe was secured around her shoulders. She wore one over her borrowed nightgown during the day. "Especially since this is the _fifth_ time."

"Well, they're his late wife's clothes, so I imagine he's letting nostalgia tint his reason." He smiled slightly. "I am due to give him a report soon. Shall I remind him that Princess Nyna's coloring is very different?"

"That'll work. I'll give you a list of things her dresses need for her to look her best." I moved so that I was simply standing beside Nyna, and turned to face Prince Hardin. "Do you need something?"

"I am simply checking in on both of your healths." He smiled gently, and bowed. "Aside from the clothing, are there any issues?"

"No, none," Nyna reassured, smiling. I could see the strain in it, but I knew Prince Hardin couldn't. "Though, I'll almost be disappointed when the clothing situation gets sorted. It's fun watching her complain about black trimmings."

"They were a horrible dark grey," I retorted, mostly so that she laughed. "But yes, we're fine. The food is delicious, by the way."

"There's a reason I try to get Sedgar on cooking duty a lot," Prince Hardin joked. His smile softened. "In that case, I will leave you both to your rest. I'll be back later for that list."

"Thank you." I waited until he left, closing the door behind him, before I took the half-empty bowl from Nyna. "You can eat the rest of this in a bit. You've been more melancholic lately."

"Am I?" she replied, a little startled. Then she sighed. "Well, that makes sense. I suppose it's really hit me now that Archanea has fallen. I knew it of course, but now, I am in exile."

"That's not all, though."

"...No, it's not." She laughed again, but this time, it was broken. "Have you heard of Artemis's curse? Her curse haunts the Fire Emblem." She glowered at the shield, half-hidden in the closet, still covered in the cloak. "Whenever it is given to a hero… whenever it changes hands to protect the world… it guarantees the war will end at a price." The more she talked, the more wooden the words became. "Artemis was like me. The last surviving member of the royal family while the world warred with Medeus. Her curse is the end of war, and the end of love."

"Nyna…" My heart was breaking again.

"I won't see him again." Her voice cracked and she twisted her fingers into the blanket, gripping them tightly. "I won't hold his hand again. I won't-"

"Nyna." I made my voice firm. "Look at me." I waited until she slowly did so. "Nyna, when we see him again, if you still love him, if he still loves you, then I _will_ keep both of you safe. I _will_ see you both through this damned war. You can count on that."

"Diana…" Her eyes widened, all sadness replaced by shock. "But…"

"I know what it's like to be sacrificed, Nyna." I knelt in front of her and clasped her hands, easing them to relax. "So, I am going to do everything I can to make sure you do not sacrifice _yourself_."

"But Archanea…" She was at a loss for words. "My people, my country… I am their ruler… I have to…"

"I am your guard, Nyna. That means I'll protect you from everything, including yourself." I tightened my grip on her hands, and smiled when she looked like she couldn't decide if she wanted to smile or cry. "And I am your friend, Nyna. Meaning I want you to be happy. So, have faith. Have hope. You're brave enough. I know you are."

"...Thank you…" She finally decided to just do both, smiling warmly even as she cried. "Thank you, Diana. I'm so glad you're with me."

"Always." The word was fierce, and I knew why. This little princess, who I once dismissed as a ninny, had won my loyalty. She and Camus both had it.

And may the gods have mercy on those who harmed them or made them miserable. I certainly wouldn't.

* * *

Author's note: So, like the previous Interlude, this details the 'two years' between the prologue and the start of the main game (meaning that Diana is 19 by the end of it; Nyna is 18 ftr). Again, we have mentions from the BS Fire Emblem episodes, specifically the third (which features Lena and Ricken stealing from the treasury and getting help from Navarre, Castor, Maris, and Dice) and the fourth (which details how Camus helped Nyna escape the castle to get to Aurelis). In the fourth episode, if you manage to defeat the boss prior to Nyna making it to the escape tile, then Medeus himself does show up to deal with Camus himself. Yes, Camus fights, and wins, against the bulk of the main army to the point that Medeus compares him (and subsequently, the player) to Anri. It's mentioned that Camus's eventual capture was due more to his _weapon breaking_.

The description of Nyna's parents being hung on the gates comes from Chapter 11 of Shadow Dragon; Horace is another sidequest character from the same game (chapter 12x is his recruitment chapter). Artemis's Curse is described in Chapter 20 of Shadow Dragon.

Next Chapter - Marth Embarks (main game start)


	5. Chapter 1) Marth Embarks

Chapter 1) Marth Embarks

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _Two years have passed since Altea's fall, and it's clear that the word is turning shittier, not better. Still, Talys remains peaceful, so here we are. Training and waiting for the day to take back our home. Yes, even I'm doing that, though it's more so that I can keep needling princey boy. After all, he's 'my' silly prince. Wait, that comes off as romantic. Was that why Ogma thought I might be jealous of Caeda?_

* * *

The sound of wooden thwacks echoed through the air. In recent months, Marth had taken to sparring Cain and Abel, since Ogma was often away to deal with bandits and pirates and couldn't teach him. Today, it was Cain's turn.

"Your penmanship is getting better." While Marth spared with Cain, and the rest of us lazed about in the courtyard with them, Jagan was giving me lessons. Today was history, which meant a lot of essays. "You still have a bad habit of forgetting to cross your 't's," Jagan gently chided, laughing a little as he showed me where I wrote 'lille' instead of 'little'. "You also have a bad habit of writing, still, as you talk."

"What's so bad about that?" I demanded, sulking. History was easily my worst subject, though I kicked ass at math and chemistry. Being a thief meant you had to know your numbers and what things were worth, and I'd used chemistry for my little 'gifts'.

"Most teachers look down on getting essays with the words 'shit' and 'ass' in them."

"Most teachers need to get their heads out of their asses." I sulked more as he laughed again. "Aside from that, did I get it right?"

"Mostly. You made a slight mistake with Altea's first king. He was Anri's brother, not son."

"But princey boy is always called the descendant."

"Indirect descendant. Anri never married and had children, but the blood he and his twin brother shared allowed his brother's descendants to wield the Falchion." A particularly loud 'thwack' caught his attention, and he turned his eyes to the sparring. "Seems they're both holding well."

"I suppose." I turned to look as well, and thought Marth's sword strikes were too angry and harsh again. So, I decided to have fun. "Oh, hey, Caeda's here!"

"Huh?" Marth immediately yelped. His attention wavered, clearly looking for her, and he was soon rewarded with a good hit on the arm, one that made him drop his sword. "Ack!"

"You fell for it!" I laughed, nearly falling onto my side from how much I was laughing. "How are you supposed to fight Gra if you get distracted by your girlfriend?"

"Sh-she's not my girlfriend!" His flush deepened as I continued to laugh. "Kris!"

"Kris, you should not interfere like that in a sparring match," Jagan scolded. I grinned, unrepentant. "Prince Marth, she does, however, bring up a good point. You should not let your attention waver during a fight so easily. If that had been live steel, you would be armless."

"He's pretty 'armless already," I joked. I ducked as someone, Draug maybe, caught the pun and threw a towel at me. "Wouldn't hurt a fly, our princey boy!"  
"I'm going to get you, Kris!" Marth snapped, face still a mottled-apple-red. He lunged, intending to chase, and I sprang up, running about for an impromptu game of tag, still laughing all the while. The others in the group looked on indulgently as they cleaned up the sparring area.

I kept on running, heading towards the fields by the castle, dodging Marth all the while. However, when we reached 'our hill', I slowed to a stop, grinning at him. "You should work on your running, Marth," I teased as he finally caught up. "After two years, you should be able to better keep up!"

"You're mean," Marth grumbled. He rested his hands on his knees, panting heavily. "Making me run a marathon after sparring."

"You're the one who chased, silly prince." I snickered as he lifted his head to glower. "Your sword was getting to angry. You weren't 'fighting' Cain anymore, were you?"

"I was, but… I was starting to imagine Jiol." His head dropped again. "I want him dead. So much."

"Well, he's an old man. Maybe he'll die of a heart attack."

"That doesn't sound satisfying."

"Are you happy?" I found myself prompting him more and more on Frey's last wishes as the months went on. "Well?"

"...No…" He straightened slowly, eyes grave. "The rumors from the mainland are… I hate being so weak that I cannot help. How can I be happy, when so many are suffering?"

"I'd say the same way others are, but that's just not you. You're an idiot." I shook my head and looked up at the sky, frowning as I noticed something. "...Marth, Caeda is here."

"I'm not falling for that twice."

"No, I mean it." I pointed for emphasis. "Caeda's here." I felt everything freeze when I noticed something else. "Oh, shit, she and her pegasus are injured." Blood and feathers were dripping down as they struggled to stay in the air.

Marth whistled sharply twice, catching her attention, and her pegasus more 'dropped' than 'swooped down' for a landing. She half-fell from the impact of the landing, but Marth caught her easily. I tended to her pegasus, noting that the wounds on both were superficial. They both seemed more exhausted than in pain.

"The castle…" she mumbled. She leaned heavily on Marth. "Castle… attacked… pirates…"

"Pirates are attacking the castle?" I asked, incredulous. Pirates weren't normally _that_ bold. "Where the hell is Ogma?"

"A different attack… away…"

"Damn them." I looked to Marth. "There's no way she's walking, and we need to tell the others."

"Right," Marth agreed. He easily picked up Caeda is a 'princess carry', and I tugged her pegasus to follow us. "This is bad."

That was the understatement of the month.

* * *

"Caeda, easy," I whispered, steadying her as she tried to rise from her chair. After tending to her injuries, our group had met in one of the larger rooms of the villa to discuss what to do. Caeda was in the only comfortable chair in the room, at Marth's insistence, but she kept wanting to get up and pace. "I know it's rough."

"I'm just…" she began, before sighing. "No, I'm sorry." She slumped back into the chair. "I'm just antsy."

"I know." It was hard not to be. Marth and Jagan were in a side room right now, arguing. "You need anything."

"No, not really." She smiled slightly. "I mostly… just need to know what's going to happen."

"Yeah." I glanced around and noticed Cain not far away. "Cain." I waved him over and, after a moment, he came to my side. "Why is there an argument again?"

"If we take up arms to protect Talys, Medeus will learn we're here," Cain explained. His eyes were dark. "That means we'll have to leave Talys and head to the mainland, taking up arms and the fight."

"The problem, though, is whether or not we have the skills, strength, and charisma to pull something like that off," Abel added, joining the conversation. His eyes were more thoughtful. "Jagan thinks we don't. Prince Marth… well, I'm not sure if he thinks we do or don't."

"Something like that wouldn't even occur to him in this situation," I replied. I glanced at the door, wondering what was being said. "All Marth would care about is… Talys falling like Altea. He doesn't want another Altea. Talys has been our second home, and it is the home of those he cares dearly for." I glanced down at Caeda, but she didn't catch my little bit of teasing.

"So, it's between Jagan's logic or Prince Marth's faith."

"Oh, princey boy is going to win, even if he has to charge the castle with just one other person. It's more of a matter of when is Jagan going to realize he's fighting a losing battle." I shrugged. "I mean; how is he supposed to 'save the world' like everyone expects if he can't save even one kingdom? It's not like we're under attack by Medeus's army, right? It's just pirates."

"Very smart and clever pirates," Cain pointed out. However, he nodded, smiling slightly. "You know our prince well."

"He's not _that_ hard to read," I retorted. I nudged Caeda, noticing she was half-asleep now. "Jagan better give up soon, though. The longer they argue, the more likely everyone is going to die. That'll be a fine way to repay Mostyn for taking us in."

"You really should use titles."

"Huh? Why?" I waited for an answer, but received none as the door to the side room finally opened to reveal a sighing Jagan and a triumphant Marth. "So, I hope you have a _plan_ to go along with the argument, pretty boy." I shook Caeda awake as Marth walked over. "Otherwise, we're going to fall and splat fast."

"Where did that idiom come from?" Marth asked, looking genuinely curious. Then he shook his head. "Wait, no, not the time."

"It's from doing roof work," I explained anyway. "If you mess up or get caught without a plan, you're inevitably going to fall off the roof and go 'splat' on the ground. It's very messy." I shrugged, leaning back against the side of the chair. "So? What's the plan?"

"I'll want to double check with a map, but I was thinking a doing a 'dual strike' sort of thing." Prince Marth smiled slightly. "We get them to open the gates for a showy 'frontal assault', while having a smaller strike force slip in from another entrance."

"How, exactly, are they going to…?" I trailed off as I realized what he planned. "Oh, shit, Marth, you're really going to use yourself as bait?"

"If they're working for Dolhr, then I'm _quite_ the prize, yes?" His smile brightened, and it brightened to the point that the protests of everyone else in the room died out. "So, I 'surrender', and then we have Norne and Gordin cover me when the gates open." His smile dimmed slightly as he focused on me. "I'd like you to lead the strike force, Kris."

"Sure, that's no problem." I pointed to Caeda, who looked a little dazed. "I'll want her with me, though. It'll be easier to find a way inside if there's actually someone who knows the place."

"Oh, yes!" Caeda agreed instantly, before Marth could even think to protest. "I can think of a couple of places just off the top of my head; I used them to sneak out."

"You're overruled, Marth," I teased as he looked conflicted. "Relax, pretty boy. I'll keep her safe. But we'll need to go over a map to get everything set up, right?"

"Yes, we will," Marth confirmed. He sighed a little, and I could tell he had thought, or hoped, Caeda would stay safely behind. But that just wasn't Caeda. "Cain, Abel, can you find a map for me and set up the room for a war meeting?" There was a bit of light in his eyes, and I knew it was because, at last, we were able to repay those who helped up. At long last, we were beginning the fight to reclaim our 'first' home. "Our objective is to seize Castle Talys!"

* * *

Whoever led the pirates was crafty. He'd actually had his people scour the castle for secret paths in and out. Caeda had escaped only because he hadn't expected a pegasus way out here in Talys, since they were native to Macedon. That made sneaking in tricker than originally expected. But they clearly didn't expect people to sneak in from the roof, so the guard was lighter there.

"I don't think I ever wanna do tha' again," Norne mumbled as she slowly crept her way through the window. She breathed a sigh of relief as she bounced on the solid floor. "I swear those tiles were gonna slip under me!"

"There's more stable than that," I dismissed, already scouting the area ahead. Norne quickly went to my side to help. "If anyone fell, it was going to be Cain with all his armor."

"I'm specifically here to be a shield, since the three of you are lightly armored," Cain defended. He looked a little uncomfortable. I guessed it was because sneaking wasn't a very knightly thing to do. "Princess Caeda, are you well?"

"I'm fine," Caeda reassured. She looked a strange mix of chipper and grim. "I've climbed more precarious things in the past."

"I had guessed, considering your first choice in an entrance way." It had been a series of bricks and windows that made even me be wary. "But I doubt you were injured prior to climbing those."

"My injury is fine. Wrys is skilled." It took me a second to remember that the healer near the Villa, Wrys, had volunteered to help us out. "I'm far more worried about Marth…"

"He will be fine. There are many near him, and more importantly, Abel is with him." Cain smiled slightly. "His loyalty to our prince is absolute. He'll ensure that Prince Marth is fine."

"Oh, I do not doubt your loyalty or skills, Cain." Caeda's eyes turned sad. "But I worry some might die. He spoke often of a Frey who died."

"...We know the pain our prince will feel, Princess Caeda. We love him enough to _live_ for him, just as we respect him enough to die for him." Cain smiled slightly. "Trust me. I saw that pain too."

"Right, right…"

"If you're done talking, we can move forward," I called. Both Norne and I pointed down the hall. "It's clear now, but might not be in a few." The two squeaked and quickly caught up to Norne and me. "Caeda, where's the most likely place they're be held?"

"The throne room," she answered easily. She gripped her lance tightly. "It's the one room big enough for all the servants and nobles in attendance." Her fierceness faltered. "It's… also one of the easiest to… clean..."

"Hold the thought, but don't follow it for now." I glanced down the hall again. "Let's go. Tell us when to turn."

"Okay."

Our little group quickly made our way through the castle, taking the lesser used hallways and servant paths to avoid the patrolling pirates. It was a winding path down to floors, and as we got closer to the first floor, the sounds of screams and metal on metal grew louder. My stomach turned as the smell of blood wafted through the halls, and my hands shook as we heard the sounds of metal through flesh.

I didn't want to be here. I was a thief. I avoided fighting.

The feeling of just wanting to _run_ intensified as we made it to the throne room at last. There were bodies scattered about, and there were even more wounded. The main part of the battle was in the 'front' part of the room, closer to the gates, but there were a few here, ready to take hostages.

Cain and Norne immediately struck them, showing no hesitation. Caeda went to untie those captured, jaw set as she tried to pry the knots undone before gritting her teeth and just using a knife to cut them. I stood awkwardly in the back, not quite sure what to do. The screams of those who drowned echoed through my head, and I couldn't even pull out my tome.

A shadow fell over me, and I blinked slowly as I realized there was a pirate in front of me. His axe was high above his head, and he wore a vicious grin. He smelled of blood, sweat, and dirt. He had a few shallow cuts on his chest.

The axe moved towards my head, and I could only stare. I didn't want to die, but those screams kept me pinned.

Then, there was red, but not blood-red. At least, it wasn't _only_ blood-red. It was red armor, speckled with scarlet dots. More crimson streamed down it as someone grunted over my head. The someone twisted, trying to strike the pirate, but missing. The someone had red hair, darkened to auburn from sweat, and fierce red eyes that were slightly unfocused from pain.

The different shades of red jolted my brain again as I realized what happened. I'd frozen, and Cain protected me. Now, the pirate was about to strike Cain as he tried to bring his shield up with a wounded arm.

So, I surged forward, tome in hand, and ducked under the pirate's guard as thunder crackled around my fingertips. "Dodge this," I whispered as I held my hand over the pirate's heart and loosed the spell. It cracked through him, splitting his chest and back into a myriad of cuts and burns as the thunder rocked through his body.

He dropped like a stone, bloody axe clattering to the ground, and I stared, startled. He hadn't screamed. He'd been in so much pain that he couldn't scream before he died. I… wasn't sure if that was worse or better.

"Thanks." Cain's voice dragged me out of the shock, and I was startled to see him smiling. "That second strike would've hurt," he continued. He winced as he rolled his shoulder, and more blood streamed down. "Ugh, right on the upper part of my shield arm. Abel's right; I do need to get faster." He paused and turned to me again, looking very serious. "Don't tell him I said that."

"I… sure?" I replied, not sure what else to say. My eyes widened as I realized a pirate was targeting Caeda. "Don't you dare!" I loosed another thunder spell, this one hitting the pirate in the head. It didn't kill him instantly, but it did give Caeda the opening she needed to kill him herself. "I…" I glanced back at him, feeling… weird. "Um…"

"Norne needs some help." He smiled, and there was no blame in his eyes. "I'll guard Princess Caeda if you can help her cover."

"Yeah, I think… I can do that." If nothing else, I _did_ have my little 'gifts'. "...Thank you."

"I'm just glad I could guard you." His smile faltered just slightly, and I suddenly knew, _knew_ , what had happened on his end. Someone he had known had frozen when Gra betrayed Altea, and he had not gotten there in time to save them. This time, he was fast enough. "Just…"

"I'll be fine. Be careful of your arm." I wouldn't freeze again. I refused to freeze again.

The look on his face… I never wanted to see him look so sad or scared again.

* * *

At some point, Ogma and his group returned. With their assistance, Marth killed the pirate leader and liberated the castle. Now, he and Mostyn were talking, something about ships and supplies and going out to war.

I should've been with them to hear all of it, but I was too busy puking up my guts.

I coughed and hacked, constantly thinking that it was finally over before I started puking again. I had no idea how I had anything left in my stomach, but it was determined to rid itself of all of it in a vain attempt to purge itself of the smell of blood and burnt flesh.

At some point, someone had kindly snuck up on me to hold back my hair, so that I could avoid getting more vomit in it. I'd nearly electrocuted them with a thunder spell for their kindness. That triggered another wave of puking. But, finally, my stomach decided there was just nothing left, and my body just let me cough, wishing by all that was holy that I could get the taste of everything out of my mouth.

"Here, chew on some mint, but make sure you don't swallow it." Cain's voice jolted me and I yelped as I fell on my ass and scooted back. His only reaction was to blink slowly. "Um… do you hate mint that much?" he asked. He had a small glass of water with him, as well as a bowl with a washcloth.

"No, that's not…" I began. Absently, I reached up to touch the ends of my hair and found them damp. He'd cleaned the vomit out of my hair. "Just… what are you doing here?"

"I figured you'd be vomiting." He sounded completely nonchalant about it. "You did after your first time, after all, and I doubt the second time is easier. It wasn't for me."

"Well, yes, but…" I trailed off as I realized what he said. "Wait, you just…"

"The ship." Everything froze at the words. "You're the one who sunk it."

"What are you…?" I tried to protest, but started coughing instead as I remembered the ship. "I…"

"I was one of the few watching the ship. I saw the thunder." He had remained silent, though. He had respected that I hadn't wanted anyone to know. "You were sick afterwards. I took some guesses from there. Prince Marth knows too?"

"He was next to me." I shook again, remembering. "A fireball was coming our way, and I shot the thunderbolt to dispel it. Thunder magic trumps fire, after all and…" The screams echoed through my head. "I didn't mean to hit the ship. I didn't mean to kill them. I didn't…"

"Easy." His hands rested on my shoulders. "I'm not blaming you. You saved us."

"But they died… and drowning is…" Drowning was painful. Drowning was terrifying. The dead might look peaceful, but they didn't go peacefully.

"...I won't tell you it's okay. It's clearly not, to you." He handed me the mint again, and this time, I carefully chewed it, grateful to have anything to get the taste out of my mouth. "But you did save us from that same fate. They would've left us to drown, and stood by to watch."

"That's strangely not comforting."

"I'm sure it's not." He laughed a little. "But, unfortunately, those are all the words I know to say."

"Are you making girls cry again, Cain?" Abel walked up, grinning. It softened as he looked at me. "How are you feeling? After my first kill, I couldn't look at anything red for weeks."

"I'll get back to you on that," I croaked. Abel passed me a towel, which I used to wipe my face and to spit out the mint. "Water? Though, I have to say. Drowning myself in alcohol has never sounded more tempting."

"Don't. You'll just throw it up again." Abel sat next to us and passed me the glass of water. "Tiny sips. You'll want bland drinks for a few marks, and then some bland foods for the rest of the day. If you can't keep those down, you're going to Wrys."

"Okay." Carefully, I sipped the water, and tried not to blush as Cain shifted to go back to cleaning my hair. "Um…"

"We'll be staying in the castle tonight, so they're preparing rooms and warm baths for us." Abel smiled slightly. "The meeting is over. Prince Marth has declared we'll leave in the morning." His slight smile became a grin. "Oh, and Princess Caeda is coming with us."

"Is she?" That startled me. "I thought she'd stay here."

"So did everyone else. Well, except Sir Ogma. He wasn't surprised at all." Now Abel was snickering. "King Mostyn and Prince Marth tried to convince her otherwise, but she put her foot down. Both of them lost that argument, easily."

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to try and not drown in their awkward flirting." The thought made me smile, though. "She just wants to be with Marth."

"I think that's why King Mostyn backed down, though of course, our prince is oblivious." Abel shook his head. "Poor Princess Caeda. It'll be a lot of work getting him to notice."

"I don't think he needs to hear that from you, Abel," Cain immediately deadpanned. He grinned, shifting to face him. "Mister 'half the servants get all giggly and give stuff to me but I have no idea why'."

"Wait, _that's_ why?!" Abel yelped, his face going red. Cain burst into laughter, and I couldn't help but chuckle. "No way!"

"Oh, the trail of broken hearts you have left behind, my friend, could lead Dolhr straight to us, if they knew what to look for! There's some here!"

"You're making all this up!"

"I couldn't even if I _tried_!" The two of them dissolved into banter that brought my mood up immensely. I was outright laughing before long, though it was weaker than usual.

Among the laughter, though, both dread and cheer filled me. I dreaded the coming days, because leaving meant we were going to war. War meant more death, more fighting, and more killing. War meant more chances to freeze, despite my vow to never freeze again, and war meant more chances that someone would get hurt protecting me.

At the same time, I couldn't help but be cheerful. We were leaving Talys, meaning it would be safer. We were working to head to our 'first' home, and that felt wonderful. The coming days also would bring a lot of ways to tease both Marth and Caeda, and that was _always_ fun.

I supposed it didn't matter. Marth had decided we were leaving, and thus, we were going to, no matter what happened. Maybe it was a good time to start praying again. I hadn't really, since Grandfather died, but this might be a time where we needed a little divine luck.

* * *

 _Records on Marth_

 _The sixteen year old Crown Prince, uncrowned King, of Altea._

 _A kind and gentle boy who avoided his sword lessons to play with the local animals and to study things such as weather reading_

 _Battles with swords, favoring the rapier. Knows some less-than-knightly tricks thanks to tutelage from the mercenary, Ogma_

 _Carries deep mental scars from Altea's fall and Frey's sacrifice, tearing him between wanting vengeance and wishing to focus on Frey's last wish_

* * *

Author's Note: So, here we go with Chapter 1. If you played FE1, or played Shadow Dragon's Hard Mode, this is where you started. Some parts of this is inspired from the manga. It's never mentioned that Anri and his brother were twins; I threw that in. (As a reminder, this is two years after the prologue, so Marth was 14 during the prologue and 16 now.)

Next Chapter - Interlude, Battle Maid


	6. Interlude - Battle Maid

Interlude - Battle Maid

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _Nyna and I have successfully made it to Aurelis, where we live 'in exile', seeking to build an army to destroy Medy, Garf, and all those who fight under the name of the 'Shadow Dragon'. But it's slow. So many people have lost all hope. But a few more join each day, and each new recruit gives us a little hope that things will be fine._

 _But Macedon is determined to grind Aurelis into the dust before that hope blooms into something meaningful. It is simply a matter of who falls first._

* * *

"Hold still, Nyna," I scolded, frowning. "If you keep flinching, I'm going to stab your eye with this."

"Why are you lining my eyes anyway?" Nyna complained. She did her best to sit still at the vanity while I finished up her make-up. "What's the point again?"

"It'll make your pretty eyes more noticeable, and people will think they're getting special attention when you look at them." I smiled as I finished lining her eyes and then went to touch up the rest of her makeup. "That makes you appear more approachable and more loved."

"I am half convinced this is you getting me back for _something_." She squirmed as I switched to checking her hair. "I am simply visiting the town. You dress me up like I am going to a battlefield."

"But you are. It's a battlefield to win their respect. It lessen the chances of someone turning traitor on you." I held out my hands and helped her stand with a smile. "Since you do not really have combat ability, the ability to win loyalty is something you must cultivate." Loyalty meant there would be people willing to throw themselves onto an assassin's blade to keep her safe.

"I have you."

"Yes, you do. But I am not invincible, sadly. I can't fight Garf and Medy for you, and I certainly cannot win an army." I nudged her out the door with a little laugh. "So, win them with your dazzling smile. Who knows? Maybe some of the Macedonian spies will turn their coats."

"Oh, now you're just teasing me." She made a face and I snickered. "You will be near?"

"I will be but a message away if you feel uncomfortable, but after what happened to the _last_ batch of laundry…" I shuddered dramatically. "So much pink… not that pink wouldn't look lovely on you, Nyna. But those dresses were _white_ for a reason. It's easily your best color."

"You're ridiculous." She laughed and waved as we finally left her room. "I'll see you later, then."

"I'll make sure a bath is ready for you when you get back. But try not to climb a tree and rip another hole in your skirts? I still need to mend the last one."

"I make no promises." She grinned and I laughed. "Ah, I'm going to be late."

"Be careful!" I waved as she walked off, and felt a little bit of sadness as I watched her visibly school her expression and demeanor to a dignified calm. I was the only one she let herself act like a girl around. To everyone else, she was Princess Nyna, the Empress in Exile. She let no one else cross that line.

I worried for her, but at the same time, I knew why she did so. The people _needed_ the Princess in order to hold onto their hope. And, while Duke Hardin and the others didn't need 'the Princess'... she did not want to give a false impression. It had been a few months, but her feelings for Camus were as strong as ever. While she couldn't admit it to them, the formal distance should, in theory, help show she had no interest in romance.

We'd see how well it worked, but I could understand the reasons.

"You're more of a maid than a mercenary." That condescending voice could only belong to one person, and I had to exercise a considerable amount of willpower to keep from rolling my eyes as I turned to face Wolf, Duke Hardin's right hand. "Do you even know how to use the sword on your belt?" he asked, tone dubious. He leaned against the wall, studying me closely. "You've not even attended a single practice."

"I practice whenever Nyna has no need of me," I replied cooly. I debated just walking away then, but decided to play with the bait a bit. "But what makes you say that?"

"You fuss over her clothes, her jewelry, her shoes, and her hair. You do her mending. You bring her breakfast and get her baths ready. And now you're going to do her laundry." His eyes narrowed. "That sounds like a maid."

"Well, I suppose that does." I shrugged and leaned forward slightly to smile politely. "But only a fool believes that a woman cannot be skilled with pretty things and kick ass." I rocked back on my heels and stepped around him. "Have fun with whatever duty gives you free time to make snarky comments about how I take care of my lady. I'm sure it must be important."

I walked down the hall, and felt his stare boring a hole in my back. I had a slight, _slight_ , feeling that he was simply trying to understand the weird woman who took care of the princess, but he had a bad way of wording things and I wasn't going to babysit him. I had more than enough to do.

* * *

I finished Nyna's laundry in record time, and left her clothes with the 'actual' maids of the fortress to dry, content that they couldn't stain them. After that, I tidied up her room, mostly because Nyna just did not _like_ the other maids coming into her room, and made sure her bath was ready. When she returned, she regaled me with stories of the town and chattered about little things like the scents of the flowers and the taste of the spices. Afterwards, Nyna decided against taking lunch with the others in the fortress, and I brought our food into her room.

"So, Aurelisi nobility used to _enslave_ the people of the plains?" Nyna murmured, startled. She was studying the history of the various nations, to get a better idea of how best to reconstruct the continent. "And no one cared?!"

"Yeah, I heard about that," I replied, focusing on my mending. I was working on one of my own shirts, for once. I was much easier on my clothes than Nyna. "Duke Hardin was the one who abolished the practice, about ten years ago or so. He brute-forced the policy through and challenged his brother on it, threatening to abdicate his right to inherit the throne."

"Which would be bad, as Hardin is the only heir."

"And he knew that, so he blackmailed the country, basically, to make sure the practice ended." I tied off a thread and moved to the next piece of clothing. "Wolf, Sedgar, Vyland, and Roshea are all former slaves. In fact, most of Duke Hardin's personal guard is made up of those he freed. They were desperate to repay his kindness."

"It is horrible that was considered a 'kindness' instead of simply something they should've had anyway." Nyna sighed, eyes dark. "My father just… allowed it."

"Yes, he did."

"Roshea is even younger than you and I."

"Yes, he is."

"...Has _every_ country fallen into corruption?" She sighed, raising a hand. "No, don't answer that. I'm sure the answer is yes, anyway." She paused. "Well, maybe not Altea?"

"Altea had a bunch of arrogant idiots who served as knights, blindly loyal fools who never questioned a single order, and no adequate orphanages or help for those in poverty." I smiled slightly as she flinched. "Altea neglected many because of illustrious lines too. Every country was starting to fall apart."

"If only it did not take a war for the future leaders to see it." She looked so sad. "Ah, I hate my old self."

"Your old self is the one who chose to learn." I smiled at her. "You shouldn't forget that."

"That… is true." She smiled back, laughing a little. "Ah, you always manage to cheer me up."

"I've had a lot of practice in recent days." I hesitated as I noticed the hopeful light in her eyes. "I'm afraid I haven't heard more about Camus." What I'd heard was… bad. He'd been locked into a cage and dragged behind a cart. He was locked in a dungeon. "But, in many ways, that _is_ a good thing."

"He still lives." Nyna sighed, setting her book to the side and pressing a hand to her chest. Over her heart. "So long as he still lives, we… can meet again."

"Precisely." Though, every night, I had nightmares of Camus dying, starving to death in a prison with no light or sound. It made me worry of how Yubello and Yumina were being treated. I'd heard _nothing_ on them. "Ah, but we should switch the topic to something…" I trailed off as I heard footsteps coming down the hall. They were quiet, too quiet for one of the soldiers, even the scouts. It was someone trying to be stealthy. "Nyna, get my sword and your staff."

I stood slowly, and moved towards the door, keeping my sewing needle in hand. Nyna crouched by the bed and tugged out my sword and her staff from underneath. I kept one eye on the window and one ear for the sounds as they approached the door. They opened the door slowly, a knife glinting in the light.

I gave them a heartbeat to realize something was wrong before shoving the needle into their eye. They screamed from pain and I twisted, slamming their chin with the heel of my palm and using the momentum to slam their head on the corner of a nearby dresser. Blood speckled the ground as they hit the floor and I rolled them over to stomp on their throat, grinding my heel to make sure I had enough pressure to crush their windpipe. When I saw another assailant approach, I snagged one of Nyna's perfumes from her vanity, unstopped it, and threw it into their eyes. As they stumbled back, sputtering, I landed an axe kick on their shoulder to dislocate it, and threw them into the window, making it crack.

When that happened, I held out my hand to Nyna. She took it instantly, and passed me my sword before gripping her staff and following me out the room and down the hall. I heard more people approach and saw even more with weapons out and coming straight for us.

"What happened?" Nyna gasped as we continued to run. "The defense lines…"

"Fight now, question later," I retorted. I found a small study, devoid of windows, and swung inside, keeping her behind me as I brought my sword up. "Well, heal now in your case. Keep low."

"Should we shut and barricade the door?"

"We've got them coming now, so there's no time." I grit my teeth as one proved my point and struck, catching my arm. I retaliated quickly, taking advantage of how they wore even less armor than I did to cut their throat. "If we get a moment to breath, we will."

"Leave the healing to me."

"So long as you keep low. They have archers and there's not enough room for me to fully block."

The bodies piled as I kept cutting down our attackers. They might've had numbers, but I had Nyna to keep me healed, and seven long years of practice fighting until my arms were numb and beyond. The mages and arrows were annoying, but thanks to the corpses, I had a wealth of 'shields' to kick up and use as bait. My sword ended up breaking, so I stole a couple from the corpses to keep on fighting.

The river of blood flowing down the hall and into the room behind me reminded me of when Archanea fell. That only inspired me to fight harder. It reminded me of the promise I'd made Charles, and the promise I made to Camus and Nyna. I was determined to keep those promises. Few things were more sacred than a kept promise, and these were people I loved and gave my loyalty to. I would _never_ break a promise to them.

I cut down the last one, and rolled my shoulders as they began to ache. I was splattered in blood and gore, to the point that my hair had turned from gold to scarlet, and was sopping wet. My armor and clothes were damp, sticky, and heavy. I tried to wipe the blood off my face, but only managed to smear more in.

A quick count proved it had been thirty people. If Nyna hadn't been healing me, I likely would've died at five unless I'd gotten lucky on dodges. I'd thank her later, when I was a little cleaner.

"Diana! Princess Nyna!" The desperate cries made me turn, and I stepped out of the doorway. I tried to find a bit of free space, but didn't quite manage it, so I just climbed onto one of the corpses and waited as Duke Hardin and Wolf raced down the hall.

I almost laughed as they slowed to a stop, eyes wide as they noted the carnage. Instead, I used their surprise to silently check on Nyna. Her dress was ruined, and she looked more than a little green, but she gave me a small smile to reassure me that she'd be fine. She'd probably vomit later, and would likely have a bad night of nightmares, but she'd be fine.

"Diana, are you two unharmed?" Wolf asked. He looked stunned, but at least he could speak. Duke Hardin looked to be beyond even that. "There are a lot of…"

"We're fine," I reassured. "Though we might need to change rooms. There were two who caught us there, and I didn't stick around to confirm if they were dead."

"You're really fine?"

"Yep. As I said before." I smirked and slung the blood off my blade before resting it on my shoulder. "Only a fool believes that a woman cannot be skilled at pretty things and kick ass. I'm good at murder _and_ fashion, thank you very much."

I had to say. Their looks of stunned respect? Hilarious and very gratifying to see. _Very_.

* * *

My bravado ended up costing me a couple hours later. Everything ached to the point that I was near tears even after soaking in a few warm baths and rubbing muscle salve on the worst of it. Even with two marks to recover, it took me quite a bit to hobble down to Duke Hardin's study to learn what the _hell_ happened.

"The whole thing was very strange," Duke Hardin explained. He'd insisted on me sitting down as soon as I managed to limp inside, and had be drink some water. "It seems like the original plan had been two ambushes. One inside the fortress and one outside."

"With the one inside not expecting Nyna to have much of a guard," I murmured. The water was delightfully cool, and tasted a bit of mint. "Since you, on the surface, never leave one for her."

"And anyone who had been watching would've just seen you acting as a lady's maid. I applaud that bit of ingenuity, by the way. I know you said it would work, but…" He shrugged, smiling slightly. "Well, I seem to have also done you the discourtesy of severely underestimating you."

"At least you didn't say anything to my face like Wolf did."

"He's always been a little… prideful. And careless with his words. I think it's to compensate for…" He trailed off and shook his head. "No, ignore that. It isn't my place to speculate."

"It's fine." I tried not to wince as the muscle in my left arm spasmed. I really overdid it. If I'd been holding the cup in that hand, I might've dropped it. "So? Two ambushes?"

"Ah, yes." He nodded, laughing a little. "Well, you see, we were informed of the ambush… by a Macedonian spy. Something about how Princess Minerva would not tolerate such tactics?"

"I'd heard of Macedonian pride, but never did I think it would help us." I set my water down and tried not to whimper as my back keened. I _really_ over did it. "I'm guessing you were only warned in time to keep yourselves safe, but not to prevent either."

"Yes. We're still working on how they managed to get past." Duke Hardin frowned and leaned against his desk. "We'll move to a different fortress in the morning. I know we planned on staying here longer, but there must be a way inside I do not know…"

"Or a traitor." That was always a possibility, especially when you fought a war with hope alone.

"Yes. I'll be setting up some stories later and seeing which ones our scouts report the enemy reacting to." There were few ways better to catching a spy than feeding them false information. "But, speaking of rumors…"

"Yes?"

"Well, a very interesting one flitted through earlier today." Duke Hardin smiled slightly, the smile of someone who just got a new wave of hope, but wasn't quite sure if it was a good thing or not. "Comes all the way from Talys."

"Oh?" I leaned forward slightly, already intrigued. "What could it be? Talys doesn't really have an army, so I'm assuming it's no promise of support."

"Not directly. But it's said they were attacked by pirates recently, and a group of people wearing Altean armor and led by a young boy with blue hair stopped them."

"Altea?" My eyes widened at the implication. "Prince Marth? How did…?" I shook my head as I thought of the answer. "No, never mind. King Cornelius and King Mostyn were well known for their friendship."

"Alongside General Lorenz of Grust, yes." His smile widened slightly, and I spared a thought wondering about how he was doing. What did he think? Did he hate me, for not keeping Camus safe? "There's also rumors that he has left Talys, coming to the mainland."

"He's answering Nyna's call?"

"Yes, I think so. And, if nothing else, the morale boost _alone_ …" The morale boost alone would rally our weary troops… and the morale of the enemy would plummet. "We'll see if it's true. We'll see if he can make it."

"But if he does, we can use the momentum to take back Aurelis." From there, we could finally… "Well, I think this is going to be a longer night than we originally expected, so let me get Nyna."

I raced out of the room without even waiting for reply, unable to keep the grin off my face even as everything throbbed. This was just the sort of good news we'd been waiting months for. There was no way we could waste it!

* * *

Author's Notes: Aurelis enslaving the people of the plains isn't revealed at all in FE11, and I think it's only vaguely mentioned in FE12, but it was outright stated in some supplement materials iirc. Wolf, Sedgar, Vyland, and Roshea are all former slaves, and were freed by Hardin, which plays a HUGE role in why they are so loyal to him. Diana taking on so many assassins with healer support is a play on the popular 'choke the point to get the fighter and healer experience' tactic.

Next Chapter - The Pirates of Galder


	7. Chapter 2) The Pirates of Galder

Chapter 2) The Pirates of Galder

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _After two years, our journey begins, at last. Two years of studying has led to this moment. Talys was fun and peaceful, but it was never really 'home'. Now, though, we were finally ready to take it back._

 _We make our way to Galder Harbor, the mainland port closest to Talys. According to Jagan, it's never been a rich town, but that also means it hasn't had much trouble. However, rumors hint that the town had a distinct pirate trouble, and we were going to have to deal with it._

 _I'm not looking forward to it, but I promised Marth. He was stuck with me and my barbed tongue until the end._

* * *

Why did blood look even worse in water? I had no idea, but I was more than ready to lose my lunch at the sight. It didn't help that there were also some bodies, bobbing like apples in a barrel.

As soon as we landed, we'd been ambushed. One pirate, Darros, helped us out of the trap, and joined up with us, and Caeda apparently recruited a hunter they'd hired by being kind. I thought his name was Castor, but all I really knew was that he was paired up with Norne while Gorin and I provided covering fire for Cain and Abel as we secured the docks.

That was when we had a different problem: getting into the city proper. We were lucky in that the docks were far _enough_ from the town proper to have really noticed the battle, assuming the rest of the pirates were sober enough to care. So, Marth suggested a 'brilliant' idea of skirting the edges of the town, splitting into groups, and pretending to be travelers. Darros and Castor helped us escape successfully since no one knew they'd defected over to us.

I personally wondered why we didn't just _leave_ , but Marth was insistent. We were liberating Galder. Thus, Abel, Cain, and I walked down the road, heavily cloaked to hide our armor and weapons, to somehow distract the guards long enough for everyone else to get into position. It would be a miracle if this worked.

"Hold it right there," a pirate drawled as we tried to enter the town proper. The swaying way he walked hinted he was already half-drunk. "Toll."

"Toll?" Abel repeated. He kept his voice perfectly innocent. "What toll?"

"You need to pay a toll to enter. That's the rule!" The pirate shrugged. "And if you don't have it, well, I get to have your life."

"My mother would be rather mad if I spent my life so carelessly," Cain _deadpanned_. I barely checked the urge to laugh. "Not a wrath I want to face."

"Now, now, your mother is a nice lady," Abel joked. He had a sly little grin on his face. "But, sir, can you make a bit of an exception? The three of us ran with little more than the clothes on our back."

"Ran?" the pirate repeated. His eyes narrowed slightly, and gestured to some of his friends to gather around us menacingly. "From what?"

"Why, they're eloping, of course!" Abel said the words so lightly that I thought I misheard. Then I realized Cain had choked on a protest. "Now, now, there's no need to be shy, bosom friend. We're far away from your lady's violently overprotective father."

"Violently over protective?" The pirates now looked curious. "What happened?"

"Well, that is quite the tale." And, so, Abel launched into a work of complete fiction, painting me as the daughter of a priest, to be given to the church, but who fell in love with a 'simple farmer', played by Cain. According to Abel's story, Cain and I courted in secret and planned to wed, but then 'my' father discovered our plans and locked us in a shed, dousing it in oil before setting it aflame. Then Abel, playing the part of Cain's best friend even in a lie, managed a miraculous rescue, mostly because the two were supposed to be drinking, and the three of us had been on the run ever since.

The most incredibly stupid thing about the story was that the pirates were drunk enough to eat it up. They were sobbing halfway through, and a few even came over to pat Cain and me on the back reassuringly. That Cain and I leaned into each other to hide our embarrassment and our incredulous laughter.

Abel, however, kept up the story with equal parts humor and seriousness. "So, you see, we do not have the money really for your toll, but it would be horrible if they died after all of this," Abel said, his tone just a little shy of over-the-top melodramatic. "Might we enter? Perhaps we can work here for a time to earn the money?"

"W-well…" the first pirate began. He sniffed audibly, and rubbed roughly at his eyes. "I guess we can… but you gotta do work."

"Thank you so much for your kindness!" Abel grinned and clapped him over the shoulder. "Here, why don't I pour you your next drink?" He casually entered the town, the pirates clustered around him. "Perhaps you'd like the story of how they met?"

The pirates enthusiastically cheered, and I gave Cain my best 'What the hell just happened?' look. Cain just shrugged, looking slightly exasperated, but the fact that he was only _slightly_ exasperated told me Abel had done this sort of shit before.

Trying to figure out what all just happened, I followed Cain as we meandered towards the tavern. Things were still technically going to plan, but I had expected fighting by now. Instead, Abel was distracting the guards with stupid stories, using Cain and me as living props. It got to the point that the pirates were actually trying to get Cain to drink with them.

"C'mon, lad!" one boomed, nearly sloshing his drink over me as he tried to pass another mug to Cain. "Beer makes a man lusty, after all!"

"Beer makes a man _sleepy_ in my case," Cain retorted, shaking his head. For all we knew, the drinks were spiked with something deadlier than alcohol; that was why Abel also didn't accept any drinks either. "I have no intention of going to bed early tonight."

"Suppose not." The pirate leered at me. "Pretty catch."

"Pretty deadly. I've seen her knock out people before."

"Frail little girl like her?" He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I'll believe it when I see it!" Something thudded on the door of the tavern, making everything pause. "What's that?" Another thud echoed through the quieting tavern before the door splintered and fell, revealing Draug and Marth.

"Who the bloody heck are you?!" one pirate yelped as the remains of the door thudded to the ground. By the way everyone clustered, I'd assumed he was the boss. He certainly had more balls than brains as he stomped up to Draug and Marth without even grabbing his axe. "Well?"

"My apologies for interrupting your party," Marth replied lightly. "We're the Altean Knights. And we're here to liberate the town of Galder." He smiled. "Have a nice flight."

"Huh? WAH!" The pirate screamed as Draug easily picked him up and tossed him out of a window.

Using the sound of broken glass as our cue, Abel, Cain, and I threw off our cloaks and drew our weapons. Some part of me felt bad, considering how they'd let us in believing we were just a trio on hard times. The rest of me reminded that part that these were pirates, they'd been holding the town hostage, willingly killed people just for not being able to pay to enter, and did who knew what else. They might be weepy drunks, and they might have some sort of kindness in their hearts, but at the end of the day, they were all the sort of people I'd avoid like the plague, for fear of ending up dead or worse.

"Do I look so frail now?" I asked the pirate who'd tried to give Cain a drink. He snarled at me and tried to lunge, but tripped over his own feet. "This is why you don't get plastered before noon, jackass."

I set him on fire, and just threw myself into the fight trying not to get too blood splattered. I hated the feeling of blood on my face and in my hair. I _really_ hated it.

* * *

Three marks later, the battle was over, and I still couldn't decide whether my gut was in knots because of all the fighting or because of the way we'd gotten in the town. I was a thief, so I knew I had looser morals than some of the knights, which made me curious just why I seemed to be the only one having difficulties with this. Then again, I wasn't in their heads. I had no doubt Marth would be crying over the lost lives at some point during the night. These pirates were rapists, thieves, and murderers if the townspeople could be believed, but they were still people.

"Thanks for coming with me, Kris," Caeda chirped, startling me from my thoughts. Her smile was bright enough that I had to blink a few times to not be blinded. "I think the townspeople are really happy!"

"Of course they are," I replied. I shifted the basket I was carrying to my other hand. "They get a pretty girl smiling at them, and a meal they didn't have to cook."

"Hee~" She flushed a little from pleasure, and it was easy to see why. She had decided that what the people needed, perhaps even more than their homes repaired and their streets cleaned from the fight, was a nice, home-cooked meal. So, she had painstakingly spent an entire mark cooking enough to serve the whole town, and even make a few sweets for the children. She went out to deliver the food, and Ogma had asked that I accompany her, since he was busy helping Marth move some of the rubble. "I'm glad. I know a lot of them were hurting. Wrys is overworked."

"Norne is helping him out."

"What we need is a few more healers, though." She frowned a little. "We got lucky in this battle, but… oh, I'm so worried." She sighed, shaking her head. "Marth is going to be in so much danger…"

"All of us are."

"Well, yes, but him more so. You saw how much the townspeople worshiped him." She was right. Learning that their savior was _Prince Marth_ had given the townspeople hope they had not had in a long while. They were practically drunk off of it.

"Maybe I should share some amusing anecdotes from our pretty boy prince." I already had a few in mind.

"No, don't!" She shook her head, though, stopping that thought cold. "No, they… they need that hope. You've seen…" She gestured around the shattered market. Already, though, the hope Marth brought had spurred the locals to set up their shops and start selling. They might be able to only sell to themselves and us, but they were perfectly excited to sell anything. Then again, maybe the sight of 'new blood' sparked their interest. The merchants likely hadn't made any money in a long while.

"Do you want to explore the market?" I pointed to the stalls. "We've passed out all the food, and now we have convenient baskets to hold our items."

"Oh, goodness, we couldn't…" Her eyes sparkled, though. "Well, maybe a few things? I do have some pocket money."

"Why do I feel like your pocket money is the same amount as one of my successful thefts?"

"Surely I don't have that much!" She giggled, and I had no idea if that was her 'complimenting' my thieving skills or her subtly reminding me that Talys was not as rich as the other countries had been. "Let's go! I want to buy you something!"

"You really don't have to. Buy something for Marth instead."

"Kris!" She huffed, pouting slightly as she blushed, and I just laughed.

My laughter faded away, though, as we passed by a vendor setting up some apples. I loved apples, especially fried ones. They were cheap when during the tail end of autumn, and they were sweet. However, as I stared at the apples, I found my mind flashing back to the battle, when the corpses fell into the water and bobbed up and down. Just like apples in a barrel.

My stomach turned and I looked away quickly, scared of throwing up right then and there. I almost told Caeda that I needed to head back to… wherever we were actually staying for the night, but she turned to me, babbling happily, and I couldn't bring myself to say anything. She was having fun, and I didn't want to ruin that. Who knew… just how many chances we would to have fun?

I'd just distract myself by listening to the rumors of the slowly growing market crowd. A 'cleric' kept popping up in the gossips, and I was curious to learn more. That way I'd be useful and Caeda got to have fun.

* * *

"Ugh…" Marth groaned as he leaned back in his chair. We'd just ended a meeting with everyone about just where we were going to go. The town elder had suggested we take a long, winding way around, but Marth opted, instead, to have us go straight through the mountains, bandits be damned, so that we could reach Aurelis all the sooner. "I have a headache…"

"That's because you're thinking, pretty boy," I teased half-heartedly. I felt rather drained myself and the only reason why I stayed leaning against the wall was because I knew that if I sat, I'd just fall over and go to sleep. I wasn't ready to go to bed just yet. "Exercising new muscles."

"Yeah, thinking about war and paths…" He sighed, tilting his head back and closing his eyes. "Thanks for backing me up on my idea."

"All I did was mention the rumors that Aurelis is fast falling and that a defenseless cleric went into the mountains just a few days ago." If Aurelis fell, then our journey would be that much harder. Whoever led them was skilled, and Princess Nyna was said to be there. We needed both if we were going to have a chance of succeeding in this. "You're the one who spun that information into logical reasons."

"Which I wouldn't have had if not for you."

"And it still wasn't until Ogma supported you that Jagan admitted defeat." I was surprised Ogma did, but the mention of a 'scarlet swordsman' among the bandits had definitely caught his interest. "How are you doing?"

"Aside from the headache, I-"

"Not that. The people." I waited for a reply, but all he did was groan and throw himself forward, burying his face in his arms on the table. "Bad?"

"They look at me like I can solve everything." Marth's voice was muffled. "But I can't even win an argument against an old retainer on my own."

"Don't try and do things alone."

"Anri did."

"That's what the legends _say_ , but what do we really know?" I walked over and nudged his leg to make him look up. "Besides, how does the story go? That he didn't even think about trying until he had to protect that Artemis chick?" I crossed my arms and shrugged. "Makes me think more that Anri just wanted to save her, and the world benefited. Of course, Jagan gave me a lecture when I told him that."

"I… well…" He made a face. "He didn't… well, I guess he did succeed, but…"

"But, my point is that you _already_ aren't like him. You're going on an impossible journey for more than one person." I made my tone lofty. "Grandfather always said that how much help you need depends directly on the scope of your goal. Anri could do it all alone if he just wanted to protect one person. But you want to protect more than one person, so there's no way you can do that alone."

"...Did you hit your head? That sounded almost wise."

"Hey!" I scowled as he managed a weak laugh. "I'm _trying_ to be all cool."

"Well, I guess it's partly succeeding?" He laughed a little more before it faded for a worried look. "How are you, though?"

"Shouldn't you be all concerned about Caeda?"

"I am, but she's not here, you are, and I'm asking you." His eyes narrowed slightly. "So?"

"Stubborn." I sighed, feeling myself droop. "Honestly, not very well. Not really up for all this blood."

"I know what you mean." He glanced at his hands, and I wondered if he saw blood on them, just as I kept thinking I saw the ash of a fire spell on mine. "No wonder Father had me stay home that day. This is far beyond anything I could've expected."

"It's also no wonder that Jagan kept wanting to delay it." I could understand now that he had simply been _trying_ to protect us. "But the world…"

"If we delay, Medeus wins."

"Yeah." I sighed again. "I'm sorry in advance if I'm extra caustic in the coming days." I paused as I realized something. "Actually, that's probably an apology long in coming."

"Huh?" He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Now I just felt ridiculous. "I like sarcasm. It helps me keep my distance. But, sarcasm can come off as bullying and mean… now, admittedly when we first _met_ , I'd kind of wanted to be a bully because of all the trouble, but-"

"I never thought that." He smiled, cutting off my rambling. "There were times I thought you cynical, but… that is probably what I need. Especially now. People look at me worshipfully, and I fear that as this war goes on, the chances I will have to talk to those who treat me as a person, not a prince or leader, will diminish. So, please…"

"Well, I _will_ try to be a bit nicer about it. Maybe." I smirked and he laughed, visibly relieved. "I'm keeping my nicknames for you, though. Otherwise, you might take yourself _too_ seriously."

"And we can't have that!" His laughter faded for a shy smile. "You… were in the market with Caeda earlier, right?"

"I made notes of exactly what things she admired and didn't buy." My smirk widened as he blushed. "So, shall we sneak off?"

"We need to at least tell Jagan. But yes, let's." He grinned. "And if there's something you want, tell me, please."

"Why? I can just steal it."

"Kris!"

* * *

 _Records on Abel:_

 _An eighteen year old knight of Altea_

 _Calm and subtly teasing most of the time, well known for how much he'll fret over loved ones. Also stupidly good at telling convincing, and embarrassing, lies._

 _Fights with swords and lances, specializing in the latter_

 _On the surface, he doesn't show many scars from Altea's fall, but his habit of hiding his feelings makes it much harder to tell_

* * *

Author's notes: This chapter starts Caeda's trend of being able to just fly over to enemies and recruit them with a smile. She does this a LOT. The next one is perhaps the most dramatic, but the absolute _funniest_ one is much later. The line of "My mother would be mad" comes from the OVA, though I'm not certain if Cain is the one who says that. There's other lines inspired by the OVA here as well.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Crimson Dragoon


	8. Interlude - Crimson Dragoon

Interlude - Crimson Dragoon

* * *

 _The news that Prince Marth himself might be coming to answer Nyna's call to battle sparked a lot of life into the group. However, even with that, with no new information, that hope wavered and withered as Macedon continued to press the assault. More of Aurelis was lost each day, and we moved locations on an almost daily basis in an effort to not get captured._

 _You hear a lot of the atrocities the soldiers inflict. It's enough to make even me wince, and wonder if I ought to start praying again._

* * *

Castle Aurelis was a surprisingly cozy castle, with warm paintings and warmer rugs. The place was carefully heated throughout the halls so that no servant froze while they cleaned, and everyone managed to have a warm, genuine smile despite how badly things were going for us. We'd lost another fortress, and another hundred soldiers just the other day. Even a child knew how this was going to end. Aurelis would fall, just like Archanea. Yet, despite this, they kept on smiling.

It made me uncomfortable. It reminded me of Charles, and the others of the Wolf Pack, during that last 'job'. During Archanea's fall.

Laughter dragged me from my thoughts, and I couldn't decide if I was glad for it or not. On the one hand, it kept me from walking through my memories and picking out everyone I knew, from their names to their deaths, things that I had been doing my damn best to just… run away from and forget. On the other hand, the laughter came from the other soldiers in the room, and I was just… uncomfortable.

Nyna and Duke Hardin were with King Stephen to discuss what the hell we were going to do. While Duke Hardin and Nyna had been more than willing to let me listen in, King Stephen had been noticeably uncomfortable at the idea of an outsider, a _mercenary_ who in theory could be bought, listening in. In order to speed things up, I offered just to sit out this time, with Nyna's permission. So, I was with the other soldiers who were here, and I was… uncomfortable. I only knew four of them for starters: Wolf, Sedgar, Vyland, and Roshea. Even then, Wolf and Sedgar were the only ones I had any real interactions with, since Wolf was an ass and Sedgar handled most of Nyna's meals. For another, I just… couldn't bring myself to interact.

Their laughter, their camaraderie… they reminded me of the days I spent with the Wolf Pack, and my heart keened bitterly at the reminder. Most of them were dead, the few survivors scattered to the winds. My family, the only 'real' one I had, was gone. I'd done my best over the past two years to try and forget that pain, or let myself be numb again, but it just… didn't work.

I wanted to go back 'home', but home was dead. It died with Charles.

A knock on the door made all the chatting die out, but it surged again as the door opened to reveal that Duke Hardin and Nyna had returned. Nyna smiled politely at the cheers, while Duke Hardin's smile was soft and fond. Nyna still kept her distance, while Duke Hardin was a good commander, almost like a father to his soldiers.

"I'm glad to see you're in high spirits," Duke Hardin noted. That earned him some grins from the group, though Wolf and Sedgar almost seemed embarrassed. "But, sadly, we cannot enjoy such spirits." His smile fell for a serious look. "Wolf, Roshea, you two are coming with me for a task. There are some bandits that must be taken care of. The rest of you will split into two groups. One will remain here to guard the castle, led by Vyland. Sedgar, you will take the remainder to discern which fortresses are still safe for us to use."

"Diana, do you mind helping Duke Hardin?" Nyna asked as the soldiers saluted, acknowledging Duke Hardin's orders. I chose to ignore how Duke Hardin flinched slightly when Nyna used his title. "These bandits seem to be very well armed, and might have tactics against cavalry."

"I… don't mind, no," I replied slowly. I felt uneasy, though. "What of you, though?"

"I'll remain here in the castle. I'll be fine for a couple of marks."

"Well, all right, then." I was still reluctant, but we did owe Duke Hardin a lot. He had to put up with _me_. "But if you feel uneasy…"

"I'll send a messenger for you." She smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Diana."

* * *

"Well, that's another bunch," I sighed, running a hand through my hair to get it to stop sticking to my neck and face. It was getting longer again; I'd need to consider tying it back again soon. "Sir, are we sure these are really bandits? They don't fight like any bandits I've had to kill in the past."

"I'm becoming less certain of it with each group we kill, Diana," Duke Hardin murmured, giving his horse a quick brush. He, Wolf, and Roshea had dismounted to rest their horses after the fight, far harder than any of us had expected. "Wolf, your thoughts?"

"They're too well armored for this to be a simple bandit problem, Coyote," Wolf answered instantly. He stopped inspecting his horse's hooves and turned to face Duke Hardin. As he continued reporting, I took the opportunity to look around. We were in the plains 'proper' of Aurelis, where there was no cover whatsoever. Though that unnerved me, I couldn't help but admire the view as well. Endless bright-green and yellow grass paired with flowers of all colors dotting the landscape. Even the corpses and the crimson blood couldn't diminish just how _beautiful_ it was.

"I see we've lost you to the land." Duke Hardin's amused voice made me jump and he laughed as I made a face. I absently noted he'd passed off his brush to Roshea. "Do not be ashamed. I love it too."

"I guess I'm just shocked that there's still a place so beautiful in the world," I answered honestly. Both Wolf and Roshea looked almost smug about it, and I wanted to snark at them, but held my tongue. There was no need to be mean, simply because I didn't react well to people. "I'm so used to battlefields and the estates of nobles with too much time and money on their hands."

"...Would it be improper if I asked you a bit about your past?" Duke Hardin asked. He held up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "You need not answer if you do not wish. I can tell you are a person to be trusted, if only because you are devoted to Princess Nyna. But I do find it hard to read you, and that…" He smiled ruefully. "Well, I'm normally good at that."

"I find that I'm a very straightforward person."

"No one who is actually straightforward calls themselves that." He laughed a little as I scowled. "As I said, you need only to refuse."

"...No, it might be good. I've been telling Nyna bits and pieces." Perhaps talking to him might give me the courage to be more open with her. "But there's not a lot I like thinking about, mind." I sighed, running a hand through my hair again. "I'm a runaway noblewoman, for starters." I bristled as both Roshea and Wolf choked on startled yelps. "You don't have to be that surprised, jackasses!"

"Ignore them." Duke Hardin gave them both a stern look, and they both worked to quiet their shock. "Might I ask from where? The hair color makes me think…"

"Grust." It wasn't a surprise. Just as redhair was commonly associated with Macedon, gold-blond hair like mine was associated with Grust. "I was a Grustian noblewoman, and I ran away when I was ten. I… don't want to explain. It was no simple rebellion or anything, though." I felt sick just remembering. Sacrificed. My own… sperm donor… and my own… birther… were going to 'sacrifice' me for the 'good of the family and country'. They weren't my parents. That incident had shown me they never had been. "I made it a good ways, but got injured and sick along the way. I was lying in the road, dying, when Charles found me. He yelled for Father to come quickly, and the two got me bundled up. That's how I met the Wolf Pack mercenaries. I stayed with them, trained, and took the field two years later." I shrugged and shook my head, mostly to get myself out of my memories. That was… about as much as I could tell Nyna too. I just could not make myself think of anything else. "After that, it was just mercenary jobs. Typical things, really."

"I see." He studied my face and reached over to clasp my shoulder. "Thank you for telling me. I can see that was not easy for you." I wished I could protest. "Did you learn how to do laundry and the like with the Pack then?"

"Oh, yes. Charles could burn water." I made a face as I remembered _that_ particular incident. "Honestly, he and Father were such slobs, and the rest weren't much better. I ended up doing a lot of the chores."

"Is that why you only have two moods?" Roshea suddenly asked. He passed the brush to Wolf, and I wondered just why they only had one brush. Had Duke Hardin been the only one to bring one? "'Mom' and 'murder', I mean."

"I suppose," I replied, a bit amused. It was the first time I'd heard someone describe me as that. "I can switch to just 'murder' if it makes you more comfortable."

"No, I'm good. I like my guts where they are."

"I don't gut _all_ of my kills. It's not that quick of a death, and I do try to kill quickly and efficiently, unlike a certain someone who relies on his horse."

"I do not!"

"I didn't say you. I was thinking Vyland, actually." Movement caught my eye and I glanced up. "Oh. Wyvern."

"I'll shoot it down," Wolf volunteered, automatically dropping the brush to reach for his bow. He paused only when Duke Hardin held up his hand. "Coyote?"

"Wait a moment, Wolf," Duke Hardin murmured. His eyes were narrowed. "She is not carrying a weapon, and there are few female wyvern riders." I wasn't so certain the rider was a male or female from down here, but I could take a guess anyway because of the armor's color. "Roshea, Diana, do you agree?"

"Not sure about the gender from here," I answered lightly as Roshea shrugged. "But that is some very expensive armor, and it's a deep, rich crimson. I'll make a guess as to who that is based on _that_."

"Princess Minerva of Macedon, the leader of the forces here," Wolf growled. He glowered. "But, Coyote, isn't that _more_ of a reason why I should-!"

"Do not let passion overtake your reason, Wolf," Duke Hardin scolded. Wolf instantly wilted at the tone. "It is unlikely she is alone, even if we cannot see them, and if we go to battle here, we will not be able to save the villagers." His eyes narrowed. "Brace yourselves."

Even with the warning, I was nearly knocked off my feet from the wind as the wyvern landed near us. I amused myself with how Duke Hardin's turban almost flew off and his cape billowed dramatically. Wolf and Roshea hid behind their horses to keep from losing their footing, but Duke Hardin managed to keep his feet. Which was good, because it let him meet Princess Minerva as an equal when she dismounted and walked over.

"I see you took care of them before me," she murmured, nodding to the bodies. She held herself stiffly, but made no move to reach for her axe. "Who are you?"

"We're just some travelers," Duke Hardin instantly lied. He was a very good liar, truthfully, since his expression didn't even twitch. "I have no name worthy of note."

"Bah, I see." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she nodded slowly. "Fair enough. I won't ask more. It seems you were faster on the hunt than I was."

"Oh, you 'hunt' them?" Duke Hardin met her skeptical look with blank stoicism. "Are they deserters?"

"I regret to say that it seems to be the case. I am ashamed that I did not catch them before they caused such trouble."

"So, even the Crimson Dragoon has difficulties with some battles?"

"That name comes from the bards who wish to glorify a princess's decision to fight on the frontlines." She managed a small smile, though, softening her face considerably. "Exaggerations all of them. I just happen to be good at cleaving people with an axe." She shook her head. "Regardless, where do you intend to head now?"

"Where I was heading originally. A fortress nearby that these ruffians seem to be using as a base." Duke Hardin shrugged. "We intend on going there to free the villagers they're keeping hostage."

"He means the girls," I added dryly, mostly because I couldn't help it. I had the urge to flinch with Princess Minerva turned her attention to me, because her eyes… reminded me of Charles. Strong and stubborn, moral and kind, stuck to a dark path because life sucked. "They kidnapped a bunch of girls, and we _all_ know how that'll go."

"...I wish you were not so right," Princess Minerva whispered. "This is not the Macedon of my childhood, and neither are the soldiers. But they are still my responsibility. So, I suggest you leave this to me."

"Yes, because a group of Aureli civilians will not scream bloody murder and throw themselves on the sword to escape the scary Macedon soldier."

"You need not be so harsh with your words," Duke Hardin chided. I had a feeling _that_ was something he'd wanted to say for a while. "I am certain she fears bringing uninvolved people into this."

"...Be that as it may, I cannot refute the words," Princess Minerva sighed. "The tone and wording might be harsh, but there is no lie in them. A brutal honesty is still an honesty, and that is becoming a rarer thing as war goes on."

"Truth is often the first casualty of war, from my understanding." Duke Hardin gave me a pointed look. "It need not be so blunt, though. For that, I apologize."

"Don't worry; I am not offended. I suspect she was checking if my temper was quick enough to take offense." She smiled slightly as I looked away. It wasn't… exactly what I had been doing. But it was a common trick to figure out how far to stay away. "I've two of mine nearby. It'll be a small force, but I believe we can take them."

"Then we shall ready our blades as well." Duke Hardin looked to Wolf. "Give her a ride, would you?" He pointed to me, and I realized things were going to get awkward fast if he refused to give names. For both Princess Minerva _and_ us. "And behave. I don't want to hear you two arguing over the plains. Again."

* * *

"So, that's the fortress," Princess Minerva murmured, eyes narrowed as she looked to the horizon. She had landed at Duke Hardin's signal, along with two of her legendary Whitewings: Dame Catria and Dame Est. The third leader, Dame Palla, had remained behind in case reinforcements were needed. "You know the area well."

"I am a native of these parts, Dame Minerva, and there are not many fortresses on the Lea," Duke Hardin explained with a shrug. He actually hadn't known where the fortress was exactly, but we all pretended he did, so that Princess Minerva focused far more on him, and not on Wolf and Roshea, who had done the actual tracking. He really was a good liar. "What worries me more is our welcoming."

"Yes…" Her eyes narrowed. "There are a lot of archers…"

"Leave them to me and mine, Dame Minerva. We shall make mincemeat of them."

"Perhaps we could feed them to the general, in that case." She smiled wryly as Duke Hardin gave her a bit of a horrified look. "Sorry. My sense of humor can be very dark at times."

"I could get to like you," I laughed, since Duke Hardin was too busy trying to not squirm. I leaned out from behind Wolf to smile at her. "I was thinking the same, by the way. Mercenaries make fun of bunches of dark things. It's a way to hold onto some sort of sanity."

"We do something similar in Macedon," Princess Minerva replied. She was definitely amused. "Perhaps I should drag you to Macedon."

"Oh, you'd want to kill me within a day, likely. I'm chatty."

"I noticed." She laughed softly, and some of the tension in her shoulders eased. "Very well, though. The archers are yours. Catria, Est, and I will fly overhead, out of reach, and head straight for the fortress to kill the leader. We'll refrain from entering until you meet with us."

"Yes, that seems like the wisest plan," Duke Hardin agreed. He glanced at me. "Same strategy as before." I nodded and went back to holding Wolf as he urged his horse into a gallop. Roshea stuck close to Duke Hardin as he galloped in a different direction. The sound of wings flapping told me that Princess Minerva, Dame Catria, and Dame Est took to the skies as soon as we were off.

Wolf charged right through the enemy lines, waiting until we were basically surrounded before slowing enough to let me jump off. From there, he dropped the reins and went to shooting, relying on verbal commands and his knees to direct his horse. I thought the whole thing insane, personally, but I had other things to worry about.

I focused on the archers, making sure to get in close to make sure they couldn't attack me. I ducked under arrows, and threw mud in their faces to blind them and give myself an edge. 'Dirty fighting', knights would call it. But it was how mercenaries survived, especially against 'knights'. They never expected these sorts of tricks, and if I lived, I got paid. Well, I didn't get paid 'now', but I had some promises to keep, and that was important to me.

I would keep my promises to Charles, Nyna, and Camus. Promises were all I had.

"That ends this group," Wolf declared. I gave him a dirty look as he voiced the obvious. The lack of arrows were a clear sign, after all. "Coyote and Roshea might need help, though, so I'm going on ahead."

"You're what?" I deadpanned. He was off without a reply, though, and I barely checked the urge to scream at him. I didn't want to make a target of myself for whoever might be around. "I guess I'll just trail behind or something." I sighed, feeling a little… useless. I hated that feeling more than anything. That was _why_ I became a mercenary in the first place. I had been desperate to repay Charles and Dad for taking me in, to repay the Wolf Pack for giving me a home when my own had betrayed me.

Sighing again, I walked towards the fortress, mentally crafting a scathing argument to scream at Wolf for leaving me behind in the middle of enemy territory. I was damn lucky that no enemies targeted me along the way, but by the time I caught up, my legs and feet were killing me, and every single little scrape and bruise I had was making itself very, _very_ known.

Unfortunately, though, I couldn't even get the satisfaction of yelling at Wolf. The dark looks on everyone's faces told me something bad had happened. "So, did the bandits kill all the villagers or something?" I asked as the group looked towards me. I noticed Dame Palla was with us now, for some reason. "What gives?"

"You're late," Roshea grumbled instead of answering. He flinched at my glare. "U-um…"

" _He_ left me behind." I gestured rudely at Wolf before crossing my arms. "I'll save the screaming for later. What happened?"

"It appears that the castle is attacked," Duke Hardin answered. I went cold instantly, terrified for Nyna. "Dame Palla here informed us."

"I cannot believe my own soldiers were this stupid," Princess Minerva growled. I was a bit skeptical at her shock, but it did look genuine enough. "I specifically ordered that the castle _not_ be attacked until we had determined whether or not civilians had been evacuated to safer areas! There are children there!"

"It seems like Princess Nyna of Archanea is also there," Dame Palla answered. She looked a little haggard. "They decided killing a few children and sacrificing what pride and honor they had was worth her capture."

"Damn them." She clenched her fists before jerking her head up at Duke Hardin. "I need to get there. And I know I'll need your help reaching there."

"That you will," Duke Hardin replied. His eyes narrowed slightly before nodding. "Very well. Follow us. We'll show you the way." He turned to me and gestured to Princess Minerva. "Do you mind riding with one of them?"

"Since I'm liable to let my temper overtake my sense right now, no, I don't mind," I answered. I glared at Wolf and Roshea again before sighing. "Though, I do have to say that flying is one of the few things I never have done before."

"Then you'll ride with me," Princess Minerva answered. "My wyvern can adapt to the extra weight far better than the pegasi." She turned to Duke Hardin again. "Go on. We'll catch up easily."

The three rode off, and there was a moment of awkwardness as I tried to climb into the saddle. It was different from a horse's saddle, with higher backs and sides to lessen the chances of sliding off as the flier did a sharp turn. It also wasn't really designed to carry more than one person, meaning I was awkwardly perched on the end of the saddle, clinging to Princess Minerva as she took off in one quick burst.

"The wind is like a knife," I hissed, trying to not flinch. It was painful, and I wondered why anyone wanted to fly. "Hey, the castle is filled with some important people, you know."

"Yes, they are," Princess Minerva agreed. I could barely hear her thanks to the wind. "However, there are insubordinate soldiers. As their general, it is my duty to bring them to justice. If it so happens that some important individuals use the chaos to escape…" She shrugged and glanced back at me. "That is a problem for another day."

"You should've been a mercenary. That sort of thinking is wasted in an army, especially one that follows Dolhr." I ducked my head as the wind blasted some dust into my face. "How do you keep your eyes from being gouged by dirt?"

"Practice, really." Her voice was light, and I thought she was laughing. "Hold on. We'll be going faster."

"Like I'm going to let go when we're this high up! I'm insane, not stupid!"

* * *

The castle was on fire when we arrived, with corpses flung about like rag dolls in the courtyard. I made myself not think of how small and young the corpses looked. I could do nothing for the dead, but I could still do something for the living.

We met Sedgar there, and learned that Vyland was protecting the king. From there, we all split into groups. Duke Hardin, Princess Minerva, and I headed off on our own. He was going to help Vyland get his brother out, while Princess Minerva and I were going to the tower where Nyna apparently was. I only prayed she was okay.

"So, no offense, sir, but I'm not leaving Nyna alone ever again," I informed Duke Hardin as we ran through the halls of Castle Aurelis. The place was splattered with blood and soot. "Ever. Again."

"I'm actually pleasantly surprised you're not cursing me to hell and back," Duke Hardin replied. He made a sharp left turn, and both Princess Minerva and I scrambled to keep our footing to keep up with him. "Considering everything."

"Oh, hell isn't all that scary." I managed a shrug. "Besides, it's not like this is your fault. I'd rather save my anger for these idiots who thought this was a good idea."

"Try not to paint the hall crimson again."

"I make no promises." If Nyna was hurt, I was going to slaughter them. If she was _dead_ … "Oh, stairs."

"You two will head up those." He paused briefly and clasped my shoulder. "Luck to you both."

"And you." I nodded to him and took the stairs two at a time, Princess Minerva keeping pace easily, despite the clinking and clanging of her armor.

We ran all the way up the stairs, and both of us had to pause at the top. I actually felt a little nauseous. A day of battling, walking and running so much… even though I was in good shape, it was a lot of exertion for my body.

The sound of footsteps made us both look up, though, and I nearly groaned when I realized we had enemies. Armed, not exhausted, enemies.

"Go," Princess Minerva whispered. She unhooked her axe from her belt, and smirked as the enemies flinched back. "The Hauteclere will be enough."

"You sure about that?" I asked softly. I glanced back at her. "You have to be tired too."

"Hauteclere is imbued with magic; it'll heal my injuries." She smiled slightly. "Go, before your princess is moved to another castle."

"Over my dead body." I nodded. "All right. Try not to die."

"As if these idiots are enough to take my life."

"I'll leave you to it." I surged forward, ducking under their weapons and shoving my way through their line. I got a few injuries to my back in the process, but I cleared them easily, and Princess Minerva began her attack, keeping all of their attention on her.

So, I ran. I ran and ran down the hall and up another set of stairs, only to pause as I came upon the last stair. Standing there, in front of a door, was a child, twelve or thirteen, with a bow in hand.

"Move," I hissed. They flinched, and that told me a lot. They could be intimidated. I could get through this without a fight, though if it came to one, then even injured, I'd win. I had this. "Nyna's behind that door, yes?"

"P-perhaps," they replied. Their voice shook. "B-but, there's not… you won't-!"

"I will get through that door, and the gods help anyone who stands in my way." I approached slowly, purposely drawing my sword and angling it to catch the light. "After all, I am not kind." They fired an arrow; it clipped my cheek. "And I am not merciful." They struggled to knock another arrow, but their hands trembled too much. "And I am not afraid to make you wish I was." They got the arrow up at last, and aimed it right at my eye. I didn't flinch as I stopped right in front of them. "I am going through. So, stand aside, or pick a god to pray to."

They stared at me for a long moment before crumpling, falling to their knees. "I…"

"Get out of this war, kid. You've too kind of a heart." I stepped around them and knocked on the door. "Nyna, it's me."

"Oh, Diana!" Nyna's voice drifted through the door and I relaxed at the sound. "One moment. I've been barricading the door."

"Smart," I replied. I waited as I heard things move about and smiled as the door clicked open to reveal her. "Sorry for being late."

"Oh, I wasn't too worried. I knew you would be here before long." She stepped out and smoothed out her skirts, before looking at the child. "I thought there were more."

"There were, but they went ahead." Footsteps made me turn, and I tensed when I saw Princess Minerva walk up.

She glanced around, pointedly looked away from Nyna, and looked to the child. "You will tell me everything you know about this assault," she whispered. The child only nodded. "Go on." The child bolted, just barely avoiding falling. "Well then…"

"I'm going to get my staff," Nyna whispered. She eyed Princess Minerva warily, but relaxed when I nodded. "I'll be right back." She ducked back into the room, and shut the door. She was giving me an easy place to defend, if this turned into a battle.

However, that didn't seem to be the case. Princess Minerva only studied me before murmuring, "I heard your threat. Would you have really killed him? A child?"

"I am a mercenary, Princess Minerva," I reminded her. I looked her right in the eye. "I've been killing people since I _was_ his age. Of course I'd kill him, if he continued barring my path." Even if I'd prefer that they be intimidated and surrendered, I knew I would have killed them. "My greatest flaw is my loyalty. I will give up anything and everything for those who earn it. Even my morals. I did it long ago. I'll do it for Nyna."

"She wouldn't want you to."

"No, she wouldn't. But I am no one's slave. I protect her willingly, but it's still my life, and my bad choices." I laughed bitterly. "I'm a horrible person, really. I kill without a thought. I am sarcastic to the point of pain. But I am honest horrible person, and I know how to take care of someone. For those things, Nyna values me. Maybe some of her kindness will rub off, but I doubt it."

"And I doubt you are truly horrible." Her words were so immediate that I could only stare. "I find the horrible people are those who never admit that they're monsters." She gave me a studying, serious look. "That you call yourself one tells me you're simply a broken woman who tried to kill her heart because life is hard, but no matter how much you tried, it kept on crawling out of the mud."

"Well, you're entitled to your opinion, even if I think it's wrong." I shrugged, mostly to hide how her words struck a nerve. "Whatever, though. The truce between you and Duke Hardin is done, so we're back to being enemies. That said, both of us are tired, so I think we'd better just walk away, right?"

"Yes, that sounds good." She visibly hesitated before nodding. "Before that, though, might I ask you a question?"

"Won't guarantee an answer, but sure."

"Do you know where Castle Deil is?"

"It's a province of Archanea, one of the great houses. It's been occupied, though, since the lord died protecting his stupid king, and his daughter was imprisoned." I thought it strange that she'd ask. "Why?"

"...It's nothing. Just a rumor of a cleric being kept hostage there." She turned away. "Farewell, Dame Diana. I hope we do not meet again on the field."

"Same, to be honest. Your wyvern might rip an arm off before I dis-arm you." I made my tone light and she actually laughed at my bit of dark humor. "Farewell, Princess Minerva."

* * *

I waited until Princess Minerva left before retrieving Nyna and the two of us quickly found Duke Hardin and got the hell out of the castle, heading to a fortress nearby. It wasn't going to be a 'permanent' place to stay, just a place to catch our breaths. While Nyna tended to the injured, I decided to tell Duke Hardin about Princess Minerva's very curious question.

"A cleric kept hostage in Castle Deil?" Duke Hardin asked. He looked a little skeptical, and I didn't blame him. After all, why would a cleric just be kept hostage? Why not force her to heal? "Should we investigate?"

"Maybe," I replied. I crossed my arms and winced as my injuries pinched. Today was a very bad day. We lost a lot of people, and even more civilians. Hope was dwindling. "It might get us her favor. She seemed… strangely nice. Nicer than I would've expected."

"That is true. I would rather not fight her, especially when she helped us." His tone, of course, implied that he would not let those feelings interfere with his job. "I think they're hunting for us though." He glanced out the window and his eyes narrowed at the wyverns flitting about the clouds. "I heard a rumor from my brother, though, as we were escaping."

"Really?"

"Yes, and it might explain their sudden aggression." He returned his attention to me. "Prince Marth is apparently on the mainland."

"He is?"

"Yes, the rumors hint that Galder has been liberated."

"Galder…" I frowned as I tried to remember where that was. "That's on the other side of the Soothesire Mountains, right? Or whatever they're called?"

"Yes. So, with luck, he'll be here in a few months, depending on difficulties going around the mountains." It would be less if he went _through_ , but that was a fool's errand with the bandits. "I can only hope we can hold out." He looked out the window again, and I tried not to wince when I realized the skies were now so filled with wyverns that they might as well have been a storm cloud. They were coming for us. But that they were coming so obviously made me wonder if Princess Minerva was giving us a warning the only way she could. "Diana."

"I'll get Nyna. We'll head a different way and meet you at the southern fortress with whoever you decide to bring." I was already heading out the door. "Try to stay safe."

"And you."

* * *

Author's Notes: So, parts of this chapter is based off of the second episode of 'Fire Emblem BS', even sharing the title of it: Crimson Dragoon. It's the only one of the four episodes to not feature Camus and Nyna in some way, focusing instead on Minerva and Hardin. I added the castle falling for a bit more… fun. The King of Aurelis actually has no canon name, that I can find at least. It's not mentioned anywhere, even supplementary materials. So, I named him 'Stephen' for convenience.

Next Chapter - A Brush in the Teeth


	9. Chapter 3) A Brush in the Teeth

Chapter 3) A Brush in the Teeth

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _With Galder liberated, we head our way into the mountains nearby, which have too many damn names for me to even begin remembering. I hated them. They were cold, and the paths were uneven. I took to riding with Caeda to avoid having to walk over rocks. Marth would pick the hardest path, the idiot._

 _However, it might all be worth it. Rumors drifting back hint that Aurelis is on the verge of collapse, and if we don't get there soon, then we will fight this war with no allies. Even I'm not that stupid._

* * *

"Ugh, I'm sore…" I whined, whimpering a little even as I helped Caeda brush down her pegasus. I rode the thing too, so it was only fair. "Why am I tired? I just sat like luggage!"

"You use a lot of muscles to ensure that you stay on," Caeda helpfully explained. She smiled prettily. "You're actually doing a lot of work, riding."

"Is that why you've got thighs that can crush a man's head?"

"S-surely I can't do that!"

"Okay, snap a neck. I've seen that done."

"You have not!" Her eyes went wide, and she glanced tentatively at her legs. "I can break a neck with my thighs?"

"Yeah, so be careful with Marth, yeah?"

"Be careful with…?" She sounded confused for a split second before turning bright-bright red. "Kris!" She threw a towel at me. "You're horrible!"

"Guilty~!" I laughed as her face went redder. "Gods, you're easy."

"You know; with the way you two are acting, and the similar hair colors, one might think you're siblings." Cain walked over, smiling slightly as he tied his horse nearby. "Ah, I apologize for interrupting," he continued lightly, eyes dancing. "You're set up near a patch of grass that is apparently absolutely delicious, since my horse refused his feed for it."

"Your horse eats too much anyway," I teased instantly. I tossed Caeda the brush I'd been using and faced him. "What do you know about siblings anyway?"

"Plenty. Abel and me are siblings.

"Wait, you and Abel are brothers?" I had _never_ heard that. "Since when?!"

"Since… oh, since I was four or five." He grinned as Caeda and I gave him a weird look. "Not by blood, but in basically everything else. My parents died to sickness when I was young, and Abel's folks took me in when my uncles and aunts stole my inheritance from me." He said the words so lightly that I actually glanced at Caeda to make sure I heard correctly. Her wide eye stare at me told me the answer was a resounding 'yes'. "There's nothing official about the adoption, but here I am."

"You… said inheritance?" Caeda asked slowly. She hesitated a bit. "I was not aware you were… are? Of noble blood."

"That's because I don't make a big deal about it, and I prefer my title of being a knight." He shrugged. "As I said, my uncles and aunts stole my inheritance from me, and when given the choice after King Cornelius jailed them all for it, I chose to give it to my cousin and stay with Abel and his folks. So, he's a duke, and I got a loving family. I think I won that trade."

"Duke?"

"Well, he… was at least." A flash of pain washed over his face. "Depends on whether he survived or not."

"Oh, right, I'm… um…" She squirmed, clearly trying to think of something to say. Failing that, she looked to me. "Um…"

"Gotta say that armor fits you more than fancy silks and perfumes anyway," I pointed out lightly. Cain and Caeda both smiled. "Though, a fancy duke? I bet I stole from him."

"I actually recall him complaining about that," Cain laughed. The pain still lingered, but it slowly faded away for a very real smile. "Something about a diamond necklace and ruby tiara?"

"Oh, yeah, that was totally me. When we see him again, you should tell him that the diamonds were fake." 'When'. The word flew out of my mouth before I could stop it, with all its hopeful implications.

But even as Cain stared, startled, his resulting smile was the warmest I'd seen. "Yes, I shall." He laughed a little again, and I felt my face go red. "I shall indeed."

"W-well, this has been nice and heartwarming, and all that lame shit, but was there a reason you walked over besides your horse, or was it to tease Caeda and me?" I spoke _way_ too fast, and Caeda was giving me a curious, and amused, look. "Not that you can't, or anything, but… um…"

"Oh, right." Cain nodded and his smile faded. "Kris, Prince Marth wanted to send multiple groups out to scout, and you and I were assigned together."

"Seriously?!" I groaned and Caeda laughed. "Damn it! He knows I hate this terrain! Why am I assigned scouting duty anyway?"

"Oh, yes, whyever _does_ he assign the former thief to scout."

"I stole in the city, not the middle of freaking stupid nowhere!" I gave Caeda a hurt look as she kept on laughing. "Caeda! Seduce Marth and make him forget about that!"

"I will not!" she yelped. She sulked as I snickered. "Oh, go on! Otherwise, you'll take forever and I'll fret."

I pouted and complained a little more, but before long, Cain and I were out scouting the main path up ahead. And I hated ever since heartbeat of it.

"So, over here, we have trees," I declared dramatically, gesturing grandly. "While, over here, we more trees, with the occasional shrub, and up above, we have leaves, rocks, and gathering thunderclouds." I gave Cain an annoyed look. "What, exactly, are we supposed to be scouting for?"

"Bandits," he answered instantly, giving me a droll look. "Did you forget already? There are many bandits here. That's why Sir Jeigan didn't want us to come here."

"Like I remember any of that when my ass has been hurting from riding a pegasus. I don't see how you knight folks handle fighting on a horse."

"Well, it takes a lot of practice."

"I hope you all get a good paycheck, because damn if I can think of an amount that I'd be willing to fight on those things for."

"Technically, we're all being paid nothing." He laughed as I groaned. "You, I think, are being paid less than that because you didn't have an agreed upon pay before all of this."

"I'm going to rob the castle again."

"Isn't that how you got involved in this?"

"No, _that_ was my stupid conscience deciding to be lame and resurrect itself and-" I cut myself off as something caught my ear. "Off the road."

"Where?"

"Don't care. Off the road, now. I think someone's coming." I snagged him by the arm and pulled him through the bushes, ignoring the thorns that clung to my clothes and scratched my skin.

Cain grunted and awkwardly tried his best to remain hidden when our… my… chosen hiding place was better suited for a small girl like me who wore no armor, not a guy over a head taller and at least twice as wide without the heavy, clanky armor. He ended up having to hang over me, which I didn't mind. Much.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he accidentally rested his hand on mine. I couldn't see his face, but I could hear his chainmail clink. "I-"

"Just hold still," I hissed. It was honestly more… something… with him squirming behind and above me. "Seriously, just hold still."

"Why couldn't we have hidden in a tree?"

"Can you climb in that armor?"

"Armor is very flexible, actually."

"Whatever. Quiet." Now, I was certain I heard someone coming down the path. "Runner."

"You sure? I can't hear-"

"Who's the former thief here?" I waited for a response, but there was none. "That's what I thought. Quiet."

Cain finally listened to me, and before long, the source of the noise finally appeared on the path. It was two people, a scruffy man wearing cheap clothing, and a pretty woman dressed like a cleric. They held hands tightly, and the woman looked at him with equal parts of adoring and concern, while the man looked around suspiciously, but always took the time to help her over exposed roots. After one too many trips, though, they ended up pausing, conveniently near where Cain and I were.

"Lena, come on, just a bit more," the man urged. He gave the girl an encouraging smile. "We need to get out of the teeth, and we need to do it yesterday."

"Julian, I… I'm sorry," the woman whispered. She leaned into his side a bit, clearly unsteady on her feet. "I keep being a bother, and… well, I left my Mend staff. I really need to get it back." She pulled a weird looking staff from her cloak. "Here, I can Warp you?"

"Uh-uh, honey, no can do." The man shook his head. "I didn't betray my boys back there just for you to zap me out of here alone. Forget the staff for now; when you're safe, I'll nick it back for you." He flashed a cocky little grin before become serious again. "But right now, we need to run. So, tick, tock, now move that frock!"

"I… but…" She sighed. "Oh, goodness, you are stubborn."

"Says the cleric who gave sermons to a bandit leader."

As the two bickered, Cain and I glanced at each other and nodded. Then, slowly, we crept out of the bushes, moving slowly to not set them off. The man glanced around, but each time, we froze and waited for him to look away again. He was looking for ambushers, not people trying to not scare them, and that provided a good blindspot. So, we made it out of the bushes, relatively intact, without being noticed and only then did we address the two.

"Excuse me," Cain called. Both of them froze and the man quickly tugged the girl behind him, hand hovering over the sword on his belt. "Easy, I'm no bandit." Cain brought his hands up. "I think I'm a little too armored."

"Plus, don't most bandit groups not have pretty girls with them?" I added, leaning around Cain and smiling. "Hiya. Is one of you a Lena, by chance?" I already knew the answer, of course, but it wasn't like they knew we'd been eavesdropping. "The people in Galder were worried."

"Oh, yes, I am," the girl whispered. She smiled sweetly and tugged the man's sleeve. "Julien, I think... they're all right."

"Yeah, we're fine. We only attack people who hit us first, or are with Medeus." I grinned. "Wanna come with us? Our camp isn't far away, and we've got food!"

"You're encouraging to come with us for food?" Cain deadpanned. He looked distinctly amused. "Not safety. Not warmth. Food."

"Spoken like someone who's never gone hungry," I instantly retorted. I stuck my tongue out to make the words a little more teasing, even if it was also likely true. Hunger sucked. "So." I turned my attention back to the two. "Want some?"

* * *

It was a good thing that Gordin and Norne did some extra hunting, because Lena and Julian clearly hadn't had a good meal in a long while. Lena might've been more mannerly about devouring her food compared to Julian, but she easily ate twice as much as he did. As they ate, they chatted about what was going on, namely that Lena had been captured, and that Julian _had_ fallen in with the bandits, but he couldn't abide slavery and freed Lena to run. They'd heard our army was near, so it wasn't entirely luck that they'd happened to be so close; we were on one of the very few paths that an army could safely travel through the mountains.

This is where we hit a little bit of friction in the army. Mostly, Julian, being a former bandit, wasn't looked kindly upon by _some_ of the army, and protested when Marth offered recruitment.

"My lord, I do not wish to be rude," Gordin began. I knew tempers were starting to fray on all sides, while Lena and Julian watched impassively. "But are we really going to bring a thief?"

"I'm going to point out that I am a thief, and we have Castor and Davros, both of which worked with pirates," I retorted dryly. Gordin squirmed a bit. "So…"

"So, if he truly has had a change of heart, he deserves the chance to prove it," Marth stated firmly, with just a bit of anger. There weren't many in the tent, just Lena, Julian, Gordin, Marth, and me, but you wouldn't know it by looking at him. He looked as if he was in some fancy throne room, not a badly patched tent. "Thus, unless he has broken some sort of law, I will hear no more protests over this." Gordin nodded, and bowed his head, thoroughly cowed. "Thank you." Marth turned and smiled at Julian and Lena. "Welcome to our army, Julian. Let me know if any make you uncomfortable." Julian just nodded, now looking a little dumbfounded. "Sister Lena, what will you do?"

"Well, I can't do much healing without my Mend Staff," Lena began. She smiled sweetly, lighting up the whole room. "However, I can do what I am able. I am a cleric, after all. I cannot sit idly by while others are hurt."

"Then, for now, stick with Wrys. He's our curate. We'll buy you a staff later."

"Well, the bandits here have my staff. Julian promised to retrieve it for me."

"We might want to wait until we're on a different path or something first, though," Julian answered. He slowly looked serious. "Because the others know you guys are here too, and you guys are definitely rich."

"I've heard that banditry has become worse in the past couple of years," Marth murmured. He looked curious, and concerned. "Do you mind if I ask why you think that is?"

"Well, in my case?" Julian shrugged. "My home city got destroyed by soldiers. Don't know who, and don't care. I'd been a thief prior, mind. Never really had enough. But when the city was gone, and all the nobles were dead or fled, you don't get a lot of options. It's starve with your morals, or live with crime. Most people choose to live when death is staring them right in the face. It takes a brave soul to hold onto their morals and dignity at that sort of time."

"...Yes, it does." Pain flicked over Marth's face, and I knew he was thinking of Frey. We had no idea what happened. How long had he lived before dying? Had he cursed himself and his weak fellows? Had he simply prayed for us, as he did before we left him behind? "It does indeed." Marth looked down briefly before forcing a smile. "So, ah…" He tried to come up with a topic, but he stopped as he turned to the entrance of the tent. I frowned as I heard some commotion, and noticed some shadows. "What is going-?"

"Prince Marth!" Ogma slid inside, nearly tangling in the tent flap. "We're under attack," he explained, voice somewhere between frantic and calm. The rest of us blinked slowly. "So, you need to move and…" He sighed suddenly. "Gods. Damn. It."

Before anyone could react, a couple of arrows flew right for Marth, but Ogma cut the arrows down before they could hit. His wince, however, told me he might've pulled something, not a big surprise considering the damn awkward angle he'd been at when he'd sliced. However, he gave us all a 'really' look and all but threw Marth and me out of the tent, and into the chaos of the battle. Right then, the threatened storm rumbled and broke, drenching the whole field in conveniently inconvenient rain. The bandits apparently had been trying to set our stuff on fire, so it was helpful that they couldn't, but now we were dealing with muck, slippery terrain, and damn poor vision. I couldn't use my fire spells at all, and I was damned _scared_ to shoot off a thunder spell, because everything was so damn wet.

Lightning flashed in the sky, and branches cracked and tumbled down. The wind whipped about, making splinters fly and nearly bent the trees in two. One particularly old one, half rotted already, fell, and damn near took out both Draug and Norne both. The bandits almost finished the job, but Marth and Julian came to their rescue, long enough for Draug to push himself, and the tree, up long enough for Norne to wiggle out. The horses were useless because of the muck and chaos, as was Caeda's pegasus, meaning we had to defend the panicking things that could _literally trample all of us to death_ , and nearly did kill Gordin before Jagan got them in hand. I nearly lost my head, literally, because I slipped in some mud, while I was too close to a bandit to try and kill them. Thankfully, Cain blocked it with his shield, while Castor got an eye shot. Davros, Barst, Bord, and Cord, all people I barely paid any attention to, actually took advantage of the limited visibility to distract and confuse the bandits, but it was pretty damn clear that if we didn't do _something_ , we were all going to die.

My conscience wouldn't let anyone but me take that risk. Gods, I hated it.

"Clear a path, everyone!" I yelled as I jumped back to the edge of the camp, where I could get a view of most of the bandits, or what I hoped were bandits. To my great surprise, all my people actually _listened_ , and I vowed to buy them all a round or ten the next time we were at a tavern. "Now…" I focused and called on all the arcane energy around me, drawing it from the ground and air, from the storm clouds above. As I did, I closed my eyes, and thought of Grandpa and his lessons for the first time in what felt like forever. He hadn't known much about magic, but he'd studied up, just to help me. "Ground and focus. Ground and focus." The power whipped around me, crackling with intensity and sheer _glee_. It was ready. It wanted to be used. "And… now!"

I released the spell, a gigantic bolt of thunder magic, ripped straight from the clouds. It shrieked as it left my hands, bouncing from raindrop to raindrop, puddle to puddle. It shredded through the bandits in its path, striking and electrocuting the whole group in front of me, and spreading far wider than I anticipated and I spared a thought hoping that none of mine were near, as there was no pulling this.

As their shrieks of pain echoed into deafening silence, I collapsed, curling into myself as my arms spasmed. My gloves were scorched, and the skin underneath was blistered and bloody from the intensity. I… overdid it a little.

"Kris!" Someone picked me up out of the mud. "Kris, can you hear me?" The person shifted me carefully and I whimpered, curling into whoever it was as my muscles spasmed more. "Sister Lena, if you can?"

"She channeled more magic than her body is physically capable of to pull that off." A gentle voice lilted over my head. "Water, ice, and rest are the best things for her. She got us an opening, but she took herself out of the battle."

"Of course she did. But, she'll be fine?"

"So long as we all survive this, yes. Let Julian and I take-"

"Don't need… to be protected…" I rasped. Slowly, I uncurled, whimpering as everything continued to spasm. "I can… I know how to hide…" Slowly, I focused on the others, and realized Abel was the one holding me, while Lena peered at me worriedly. "I can… handle it." Using Abel's shoulder as I crutch, I pushed myself up, and nearly fell. "Ah…"

"Easy," Abel whispered, catching me easily. Thunder rumbled overhead, a quiet warning that the rain blinding everything was just going to get worse. "Easy, you bought us a lot of time with that. This isn't a situation where we're compromising anything."

"No, seriously, I…" I cut off again as pain started registering and I realized I was crying. This was why I had chosen to be a thief instead of being a mercenary or something. I hated pain. "I… don't want to be a burden again."

"You're not a burden, and if anyone says you are, let me know. I'll set them straight."

I might've replied, protested more because I had my pride damn it, but a distinct 'clang' caught my attention instead, and both Abel and I twisted towards it. There, not far away, barely within sight actually, Ogma fought with a swordsman wearing a long scarlet coat, buttoned tightly, with longer hair than I'd seen on a man before. But the battle was… wrong. It wasn't often I saw Ogma on the defensive. Actually, I didn't think I'd ever seen him on the defensive. But he was now, and I knew why. His opponent was someone fast and skilled, with enough strength to make use of both. This was someone that Ogma needed to fight at his full strength in order to have a chance, but Ogma was injured. He _couldn't_ fight at his full strength.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to bring up my hand to cast a spell, any sort of spell, but my vision blurred and greyed from pain as every muscle in my body screamed, and spasmed, protesting the use of more magic. Abel held me up and shifted so that he was protecting both Lena and me. The few bandits left weren't doing anything, just watching. I got the distinct impression that they were just waiting for this swordsman to cut Ogma down, and then they'd fall in on us again, if the rain didn't batter us first.

"That's Navarre," Lena whispered. She took my arms gently and, not even looking, she stripped off my gloves and started rubbing some sort of balm into my injuries. The rain washed most of it off, but a distinct feeling of numbness that nearly made me breakdown in relief. "He helped me, once. Why is he with bandits? He's a good person."

"So is Julian," I pointed out, mostly because… well… "I used to be a thief too."

"I wish times were better." She flinched suddenly, and I froze when I realized why. The scarlet swordsman, Navarre, managed to get a hit right where Ogma injured himself, and Ogma lost his footing enough for him to slip and fall in the mud. Navarre looked almost disappointed and everything slowed as he swung his sword up with a very clear purpose: killing Ogma.

"Don't you dare!" But before anyone could blink, just as Navarre swung down, Caeda, of all people, threw herself in between. Navarre's eyes widened and he stopped his attack mid-swing, nicking her neck. "I will not allow you to kill him," Caeda continued cooly. She planted her feet and spread out her arms in a very clear declaration: 'I am his shield, and you will have to go through me to get to him'. "Especially in such an unfair fight."

"Stand aside, girl," Navarre growled. He stepped back and brought his weapon first to his side, and then brought it up in front of him. "This is our business, not yours."

"Ogma is my retainer, my knight, and my bodyguard. It is _absolutely_ my business." She glared back, with a majesty that just… was both so her, and yet so wrong, considering she looked like a drowned kitten with all the rain. "So, I will not move. You will either lay down your weapon, or use it on me now." Her eyes blazed with determination. "No, I've one better. You will either lend your weapon to our cause or strike me down." She met his gaze, dignified fierceness versus calm stoicism. "What will it be, Navarre?"

Everything seemed to freeze as Navarre simply stared, weapon at the ready. Hell, it even felt like the rain and wind held in place, wondering just what he would do. But then, slowly, he brought his sword down to his side, and laughed a little, stoic mask cracking for a look of incredulousness. "So, you offer your life in exchange for my services? Consider yourself the higher bidder, then."

"You have got to be shitting me!" The shout shocked most of us, and that was when I, at least, remembered we still had bandits about. The loudmouth was, based on the relatively good clothing, the leader. "Navarre, you traitor…!" the bandit boss bellowed as he lunged, axe raised high to attack him. But it was cut short as Navarre easily turned and just… cut through him in a single stroke, so nonchalant that I thought I'd missed something in the rain. The boss hit the ground with a gurgle, his axe tumbling from his hands. "...Why…?" He tried to reach for the axe with shaking hands. "Why would…?"

"I guess I changed my mind," Navarre answered lightly. He slung the blood off his sword and sheathed it. "Besides, mercenaries always go to the highest bidder." He shook his head and glared at the remaining bandits. "Well?"

The rest of the bandits all ran, and just as abruptly as it started, the battle ended. I wondered again if I'd missed something, especially as Marth just… happily started chatting with Navarre, like he hadn't just nearly killed Ogma. I might be a thief, but that just seemed… I didn't try to _kill_ any of the group, just rob them blind! But I knew I could really protest. For one thing, I was barely conscious.

I'd just have to keep an on him. Mercenaries could be bought, and he'd made it clear he went to the 'highest bidder', and our enemies were rich. 'Life' wasn't worth shit, especially in this day and age.

* * *

 _Records on Cain:_

 _An eighteen year old knight of Altea, the sole survivor of the forces that marched out with Gra_

 _A kind, if sometimes reckless, young man, who bears heavy scars, physically and mentally, from the fall of Altea._

 _Fights with swords and lances, specializing in the former_

 _Trains incessantly, but makes time to check in on all of his comrades every day_

 _Records on Jagan:_

 _A fifty-five year old paladin of Altea, an old retainer of the royal family._

 _Calm and stoic, who takes training the next generation seriously._

 _Fights with swords and lances, specializing highly in the latter._

 _Looking at him, you'd never notice that he's been hurting from Altea's fall, unless you happened to catch him looking longingly at the horizon, towards Altea_

 _Records on Frey:_

 _A twenty-four year old knight of Altea, who sacrificed himself to buy us the time to escape._

 _Kind, compassionate, and self-sacrificing, his only and last wish was for Prince Marth to be happy._

 _The other knights talk of him fondly, when they can bring themselves to talk to him at all, showing that he was well-liked among the force._

* * *

Author's Notes: This is perhaps the most dramatic of Caeda's recruitments. The line of 'traitor' and 'i changed my mind' come from the OVA, as is Caeda shielding Ogma. The ambush idea came from the manga adaptation. (Fun fact, in both the OVA and Manga, Lena does Warp Julian away, but she's eventually freed again by Navarre.) There's nothing in any of the games, OVA, or Manga that suggests that Cain and Abel are related (by adoption or otherwise), or even that Cain is from a noble family, I just added that in for fun.

Next Chapter - Interlude - Exhaustion


	10. Interlude - Exhaustion

Interlude - Exhaustion

* * *

 _Every day, we lose a little more. The army dwindles as Macedon gorges itself on Aurelis, stealing our morale and land bit by bit. We're running out of soldiers, sanctuaries, and time. Medy has ordered Macedon to commit its full force on wiping us out. According to the rumors, Medy intends on 'making examples' of both Nyna and Duke Hardin. I think he's really pissed off that some simple humans have held on so long._

 _But it wouldn't last. We were all feeling the strain and, every day, we lost a bit more._

* * *

"Damn, that's a bad neck hit," I whispered as I passed Nyna some medicine. Today's battle had been particularly bad, and even Duke Hardin was barely able to survive. "Did they try to slit your throat or something?"

"No, they tried to take my head, I think," Duke Hardin answered. He held himself perfectly still as Nyna bandaged him; he'd refused healing staves once it became clear his injuries were _bad_ , but not _fatal._ We were running low. "I was just inconsiderate and dodged, so it caught the side of my neck instead."

"Poor way to take a head." I wound some bandages around his head, where he'd taken a bad injury. "Should I try to fix this up like your turban?"

"No, but thank you for the thought." He managed a smile, and I laughed a little. "The other wounded…"

"Are either bandaged, dead, or shipped out of here." Rapid footsteps caught my ear, and I looked up to see both Wolf and Sedgar swing into the room. "They're here."

"Yes, they are," Wolf confirmed. He sounded even more tired than he looked, which said a great deal since he seemed to sway as he tried to stand. "They'll be through our barricades before long."

I sighed, completely unsurprised. The fortress had been surrounded yesterday afternoon, and we'd been under siege ever since with barely any soldiers capable of fighting. We were relying on tricks such as burning oil and the like. But there was only so much food, especially since the Macedonians were torching the fields as they passed, and so much supplies. We were low on everything.

Wolf continued to report, but Sedgar remained silent. Instead, he looked right at me, with a question in his eyes that he wished he didn't have to ask. I knew it, though, as I'd already been thinking it. Out of all the fighters in the castle now, I was the only one not _completely_ spent. Since I had stayed to guard Nyna as I always did, I bore no injuries and had most of my stamina. Still, I found myself hesitating. The last time I left Nyna's safety to someone else, she had been captured.

But the sound of a battering ram slamming against wood, and the sound of wood splintering decided me. If there was going to be _any_ chance of Nyna and Duke Hardin making it out of here alive, I had to do this. So, I looked right at Sedgar and nodded. He gave me a sad, sad smile in response; we both knew what this decision would mean for me.

"Nyna, come here," I whispered when Wolf took a moment to breathe. She looked up at me curiously, but finished tying off Duke Hardin's bandage and came to my side. I gave her a look over and sighed a little. "Well, this might be a bit uncomfortable. You've got bigger boobs than me."

"W-what?!" Nyna instantly yelped. Her face went a bit red and, hilariously, so did Duke Hardin's. Wolf looked scandalized, while Sedgar just laughed. "W-why make that sort of…? And with men around and…"

"Mercenary. I have no sense of modesty." I started unbuckling my armor. She was already wearing some of my clothes, since her last good dress had been soaked in too much blood, so… "You want to keep your hair long?"

"I… yes?" She squeaked as I started buckling my armor on her. "Wait, hold on! What's going on?"

"Hair long means we'll have to be creative…" I snatched some of the leftover bandages and twisted her hair up in a bun. Thankfully, her hair was very fine, so it wasn't hard to keep it in place as I used the bandages as a makeshift ribbon. "The armor is going to be uncomfortable, and I'm sorry, but keep it on until you're safe."

"Are you trying to pull a bait thing like what we heard the Prince of Altea used to escape?" Wolf demanded. All trace of embarrassment had fled while I'd worked. "You can't pretend to be her. You don't look alike at all!"

"The point isn't for _me_ to look like her!" I snapped, glaring at Wolf. "The point is for _her_ to not look like a princess! In my clothes and armor, she'll look more like a mercenary. That'll make it easier for her to escape!"

"And what of you?" He waited, but I decided to not answer. "The gates are falling, and there's going to be fighting. Without armor, you'll basically condemn yourself to-"

"There, done." I checked all the buckles for good measure and gave Nyna a quick, tight hug. She was frozen stiff, confused by everything. "Okay. Wolf, Sedgar. Take Nyna and Duke Hardin and run. I'm sure there's still some secret exits they haven't blocked yet."

"...You're going to be the last shield," Duke Hardin whispered. His eyes were dark and pained as he tried to stand. "Diana, hold on a moment. If anyone should be the last shield, it should…" He flinched, though, and started to buckle, though Sedgar caught him before he fell completely.

"It should be the bodyguard," I replied firmly. I was scared. I wasn't sure why. I'd fought impossible battles before. But I was. I was scared. But I wouldn't let it show. "It should be the mercenary."

"Without your armor, you don't even have a chance of surviving."

I already knew that. "But if I don't, you and Nyna don't make it. There's no one else who can fight." I smiled, and nudged the still frozen Nyna over to Wolf. "So, go. Quickly."

"Diana, wait!" Duke Hardin tried to say more, but Sedgar bustled him out the door and down the hall. "Hold on! Sedgar, listen to me!"

"That's that." I gave Nyna my bravest, warmest smile. "I'm off~!"

"You… wait…" Nyna finally began, slowly unfreezing. Wolf, however, snagged her arm and dragged her down the hall after Sedgar and Duke Hardin, with a stony expression. "Wait, hold on!" Nyna tried to reach for me, but Wolf already had her out of reach. "Diana! Diana, wait! Don't go! Don't leave me!"

"Wolf, if even one hair on her head is harmed, I'll take it out on you," I called. I tried not to wince as I saw Nyna already bawling. "Duke Hardin, Sedgar, that goes for you as well! You hear me?" There was no response, of course, and I didn't have the time to wait. The sounds of the gates falling echoed just two heartbeats later, and I turned away to head towards them.

"Diana! Diana!" Nyna's sobbing screams followed me as I walked slowly to what was would be my last battle. Each one made me wince, and I briefly closed my eyes and mouthed an apology to her. Like Camus, I was staying. I was staying, so that she could escape.

I figured she'd never forgive me. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't, at least.

I stepped out into the main hall, where the Macedonians were swarming like rats after feed. Being unarmored, and all the noise, I had a distinct advantage in that they just didn't notice me, or the sword I held, especially as since I lingered on the edges. I knew what to do, even if I had never done this before. This was actually how Dad died, holding the final line of defense while Charles and I had escorted our employer out of their burning manor. _That_ employer had been very nice, and had paid us triple.

But I remembered what he'd done, to make them all pay attention. And I had easy access, because no one paid attention to the small, frail looking girl sneaking around to their leader, snapping out orders. Of course, they paid attention _after_ I decapitated the general. I had to jump up to hit, but I managed it. That's when they all frenzied and made to attack.

A mage struck me first, and their fire spell hit me hard, even knocking me back a bit. I closed my eyes and focused on dispelling the arcane energy to reduce the damage, and I jumped into the fray, making sure to cut down the mages _first_. Mages were invaluable for destroying fortresses.

And I fought. Most of them turned on me, though a few went down the halls, so I had a large pick of enemies, while they were all slamming against each other, wild swings cutting more of their own than me. Not that I didn't take injuries. Before long, every bit of me was aching and I had injures all over me, especially my neck, chest, and back. The lack of armor did give me a little more speed than normal, but I was way more exposed. However, I used the corpses of those I killed as shields and walls, making them stumble and buying me the extra few breaths I needed to catch them off guard and add another to the pile.

This was about the time I remembered that Dad hadn't had _this_ many people after him. So, at some point, I turned and darted down a hallway, forcing them to come at me in smaller numbers. That helped me a bit more, since they were just angry and not quite thinking, especially with their general down. However, at some point during that fighting, something slammed into my chest and all the air left me in a gasp. I stumbled back, feeling as if time had slowed, and I slowly brought my hand up to feel for whatever had hit me. My fingers found a smooth, warm arrow, with soft white feathers as fletching.

That was when the pain hit, and I nearly collapsed as I realized what just happened. I'd been shot. I'd been shot in the chest. Just as Charles had been, the day Archanea fell.

It hurt. It hurt so much. I could barely think because of the pain. But… I knew I had to keep thinking. I _had_ to keep fighting. Fighting was the only way I could keep Nyna safe. Fighting was the only thing I was good at. Fighting was what I knew. Even if I was broken and battered, crawling through the mud… _I had to keep fighting_!

I gripped the arrow tightly and ripped it out. Fresh pain washed through me, but battle fever dulled it. My pulse hammered in my ears, each beat counting out the last moments of my life. Some part of me was screaming because basic first aid _demanded_ that you never ripped out the arrow, but I was already dead. I was a dead woman fighting, and I'd sacrifice a few beats to scare the living hell out of those nearest me.

I fell on them, swinging as hard as I could. It wasn't much, of course. I had never been the strongest, and now, my body was actively fighting off death as well as the enemies surrounding me. But I fought them, as much as I could, as viciously as I could. I threw blood in their faces, bit them as they tried to grab me. I bashed their eyes with the pommel of my sword and kicked them in the groin. I threw their fallen shields and armor as distractions. I refused to just lay down and die. I refused to just let death take me away. I would fight until my last drop of blood.

Something thudded into my shoulder, and then my arm, forcing me to drop my sword. Distantly, I realized that there was a whole squad of archers aimed right at me. All of them were ready to take me out, and with those numbers, I knew it wouldn't be long at all. I grabbed the fighters closest to me, and shoved them in front of me, forcing the archers to shoot their own allies down. I stole a sword from a corpse and wielded it in my off hand to cut down two more. Another arrow caught my leg, and I collapsed to my knees, black lines threading my vision as my body began giving up, finally.

I used the last of my strength to grin viciously at them and the last of my breath to _laugh_ at them as they approached, ready to stab me. I wouldn't just fall. I wouldn't let them know how scared I actually was. I'd laugh at their faces, spit in their eyes as they came closer. My spirit was my own, and there was nothing they could do to break it now. But even as I acted defiant, my mind whirled. I was terrified. I wanted someone to come help me, save me. I had so many… so many things I need to do and I…

I thought of Nyna, bawling as she was dragged away. I thought of Sedgar's sad smile. I thought of Wolf's startled, almost lost look. I thought of Duke Hardin's quiet pain. I thought of Camus, stuck in some dungeons in gods' knew where. I thought of the Grustian Royal twins, Yubello and Yumina, stuck somewhere and no one available to look for them.

I thought of the promises I made and broke, and I spared one thought, one final thought, to the gods. I prayed to them, even, and begged them to keep everyone safe, and I could only hope that this prayer, at least, would be heard.

Then I had one more thought about wondering why I heard hooves, but by that point, I was too far gone to even try to figure it out, and I fell.

* * *

Something soft was wrapped around me. I knew that much. Soft and warm, but not like what the priests claimed would happen to 'good little boys and girls' after they died. For one thing, I was in pain, and the priests claimed that heaven was a freedom from pain. Now, hell, which is where I expected to go when I died, _was_ supposed to be very painful and the like, but it was also supposed to… well, not soft. So, I came to the conclusion that, despite what all logic dictated, I was somehow alive.

With a quiet whimper, I pried my eyes open, and blinked as light stabbed my eyes. I tried to look around, but everything was just so… blurred. For a second, I wondered if there was something wrong with my vision, but then I realized that my eyes were just watering. A couple blinks cleared them, and I could focus on small things. I was in a bed, for starters. The ceiling was white. There was an open window nearby, with pale blue curtains fluttering in a warm breeze.

Having seen everything I could without turning my head, I slowly looked to my left, swearing that I could hear my bones creak even with that little movement. To my utter shock, though, I saw Nyna. It looked as if she'd been kneeling by the bed before she fell asleep, half-sprawled on the sheets, holding onto my bandaged hand. I flexed my hand a bit, both to convince myself that I could move it, and to see if I could wake her up. She didn't even stir, so I tried to push myself up. And instantly regretted it as pain _slammed_ into me, making my eyes water again as I struggled to breath.

"You're awake." A gentle hand fell on my shoulder, and I slowly turned my head to the right to see Duke Hardin sitting in a chair nearby. "Thank the gods," he whispered, smiling warmly. He looked exhausted, though, and the stiff way he moved told me he was in pain too. "The healers said that you would recover, but it is a relief to actually see you wake."

"What the hell happened?" I croaked. My throat was dry, and I coughed a little. And regretted it because pain. "Ugh…"

"You're going to be in a lot of pain for some time." He sat back in his chair slowly, and made to cross his arms. He winced, though, and rested his hands in his lap instead. "We had to cut your hair by the way. It was too matted."

"That's not answering my question, you know."

"Forgive me delaying. It wasn't exactly fun-fun happy times." Some exasperation bled into his voice and he sighed. "You were near death. Princess Nyna was hysterical. The healers still don't quite know how they managed to save you. There was something about a fire spell doing less damage than expected?"

The second sentence had nothing to do with the first, but I'd go with it. "I have a higher resistance than many melee fighters." I hesitated before adding, "when I was little, I actually trained as a magic user. A… a cleric, if you can believe it."

"...A cleric." He looked so disconcerted by the thought that I snickered, though that soon stopped because even that little bit hurt. "Forgive me, but that's hard to picture."

"Well, I was a sweet little girl back then. I cried over flowers, and kittens. My brothers and sisters teased me relentlessly…" I trailed off when I realized I was babbling. "Am I drugged up?" I could handle magic well, but when it came to medical drugs, I _always_ was loopy.

"A little. You fought the healers. Nearly punched one in the face."

"I don't remember that."

"I doubt you would." He shook his head. "Regardless, you tried to fight, so they gave you some sort of sedative. You've been out for three days."

"That long?"

"Yes." His eyes grew dark. "You… had a lot of injuries. Arrows."

"I remember the arrows." Slowly, stiffly, I lifted up the hand Nyna wasn't sleep-holding. I couldn't make it far, but it was enough for me to see it was completely covered in bandages, right down to the tips of my fingers. "How bound up am I?"

"Let's just say you're not dressed because the healers didn't want to deal with dressing and undressing you every time they changed the bandages, and yet, you could walk out in public just as you are with barely any talks of scandal."

"So, basically, all of me." I let the hand fall, too pained and shaky to keep it up even for that little bit. I tried to wiggle my toes, and noticed they felt just a little less stiff, but there was definitely a binding on my feet. It _was_ basically all of me. "Where are we?"

"The southern palace. It's hidden in the mountains. The last time anyone used it was during the first war with Medeus." His tone gave all the implications I needed. This was very much our _last_ refuge. "Rumors say Prince Marth actually went _through_ the mountains. Maybe he'll make it."

"Maybe." I sighed. I wasn't so hopeful now. I doubted anyone was. "How did I make it out? It doesn't make sense to me."

"Wolf and Sedgar." He smiled slightly. "I stole a lance, told them I could get the two of us out, and sent them after you. It didn't take much persuasion."

"I hope you were at least within sight of the place, or so help me…!" I tried to push myself up again, but whimpered and fell back against the pillows as pain lanced through me. "Ugh…"

"You might want to save the threats until after you can sit up." He laughed as I glowered. That just meant that he hadn't been and Wolf and Sedgar had come back for me quickly. "You're heavily injured."

"Yeah, I gathered. Where's the whole 'how did I not bleed out' explanation again?"

"Oh, that." He shrugged. "As I said, healers. Wolf and Sedgar got you out, and met up with a few who were still running. Between that and some medicinal herbs, they managed to save you. But did you seriously have to rip out the arrow?"

"I was trying to scare them." We had that many healers? Then again, this was a final sanctuary, so maybe there were healers from other camps. I'd ask, when I wasn't quite as loopy.

"Don't do that. People care if you die." He shook his head. "Regardless, I believe it'll be a few days before you can even sit up. You might have to be fed."

"Well, that's embarrassing. I haven't had to be hand fed since…" I trailed off as I thought of the last time. It had been right after Dad and Charles had found me. Dad had been the one to do it, while Charles hovered nearby to tease me silly. Even before they'd known my name, they had treated me as family. "Ah…" My vision blurred and I realized I was crying. "Oh, damn it…"

"Diana." Duke Hardin's hand rested on my head. "Ease, there's no shame in-"

"I was scared. I was so, so scared." My voice cracked and I closed my eyes, trying not to sob even as the tears slid down my face. "Damn it. I was a mercenary. Big bad mercenary who kills without a thought. I faced death every day. I nearly killed myself during the fall of Archanea, because I _know_ what normally happens to females who surrender."

"Diana…" Duke Hardin sound like he wanted to say more, but he stopped himself.

But I kept on rambling. "But when they were aiming at me, when I lost consciousness, I… I was so scared… All I could about was how I didn't want to die. I didn't want that to be the last time I saw any of you. I…" My voice cracked again. "I… there's so many promises I made. Promises I wanted to keep, and I was scared of breaking them and..."

"Diana." This time, Duke Hardin's voice was firm, yet gentle. I opened my eyes in time to see him use a handkerchief to wipe the tears from my face. "It's okay. It just means you've found things worth living for." He sat back in his chair. "It takes courage to live, just as it takes courage to die. You found something that you're willing to do both for. That's very rare."

"But…" I wanted to explain. I wanted to explain how I'd never been afraid to die before. As a child, you didn't think about it, and as a mercenary, it just didn't matter. But now it was. Now it did. Because I'd leave Nyna and Camus behind to whatever whims life decided. Because I wouldn't be able to keep my promises to them, or to Charles. It wasn't _supposed_ to be scary, but now it was. I didn't like that. I liked being able to fight like death didn't matter. I liked living, sure, but dying wasn't… it hadn't been…

But I couldn't word it. It was too jumbled in my head, and I felt like a fog was entering my head as I tried to explain anyway.

"Go ahead and head back to sleep, Diana," Duke Hardin whispered. I heard him shift, and felt the blanket move. He was tucking me in. "Things will seem better when you're not in so much pain."

I highly doubted that, but I didn't have the energy to tell him that before I fell unconscious. I was just… too exhausted to do much of anything. All of us were.

* * *

Author's Notes: I figured it was time to show Diana not being invincible. Actually, it was probably past time. In a sense.

Next Chapter - Champions of Aurelis (for pacing purposes, we're skipping/merging Chapter 4 with Chapter 5 of Shadow Dragon)


	11. Intermission - Royals of Nothing

Intermission - Royals of Nothing

* * *

 _Nyna_

* * *

She holds onto Diana's hand as she dozes. She's not quite asleep anymore, but she doesn't really want to be awake either. She's just so tired. She's tired of all of this. She's tired of being the quiet, calm princess in exile. She's tired of having to run and hide while others bear the burden. She had thought she was ready for this, but she understands now that she hadn't been. She wonders if Diana knew, but could not find the words to tell her.

She thinks a lot of Diana and Camus, alone here in a guest room of the palace. Duke Hardin had been very insistent that Diana had a _good_ bed to rest in, since even with healing magic, her condition had been so touch and go. She had refused to leave Diana's side, and so, she had a lot of time for thinking. And she thinks of them, the two people who made her time after the Fall bearable.

Her parents had been brutally murdered. She hadn't seen her father's death, but she'd seen her mother's, skewered and thrown to the side to bleed out, but not even granted that much dignity as their attackers kicked and stomped on her. _She_ had only made it out because Midia had found her, and dragged her to safety, and now her mother's last moments haunts her almost as much as the sight of her parents' corpses, dangling off the side of the walls. When she had seen that, when she had seen the bodies, she had thought that her imprisonment would be torture. But it hadn't been. No, it hadn't been at all.

She remembers meeting Camus. No matter what she had said, she had been… intrigued by him at first. He had held himself so calmly, so bravely, and had urged her to resist. Looking back, she isn't surprised she fell in love with him. He had given her hope, and kept her safe as she tended to the seeds so that they could blossom. He had been kind, gentle, and courteous. She's not completely stupid; she knows that her feelings could've been born from simple dependence. Yet, the feelings grow stronger, not weaker, the longer she is away. She longs for the days where they had tea in the parlor, gossiping and laughing. She longs for the days where they wandered through the town, listening to the concerns of the people and watching him play with the children. She longs for the days where she simply had to ask, and he would be there, a comforting presence.

She remembers meeting Diana. She had seen her in the past, sharp eyed and quiet, with a hardness to her that seemed almost out of place with how frail she looked. She remembers how, when she had seen the bodies, Diana had closed the curtains, told her to stay put, and went to make sure the bodies were taken down. She thinks of how Diana always answered her questions honestly, sometimes brutally so, but always stayed by her. She thinks of how Diana had comforted her, reassuring her whenever her hope faltered. She thinks of how Diana promised to never lie, and how Diana followed her all the way to Aurelis, even though technically, her job as bodyguard could've stopped the very moment she left Archanea. She thinks of the promise Diana had made her, when she had cried over Artemis's curse.

Those two had made life bearable. Those two had given her reason to live when everything looked horrific. Those two risked their very lives to keep her safe. Both paid for it, though, and she wonders if perhaps this is part of Artemis's Curse. If they would have to pay the price for the war to end, all because she loved them dearly. The thought hurts, and she wishes she could just run. She wishes she could run away, far away, from the responsibilities, taking Diana and Camus with her so that _they_ could be safe too.

"Princess Nyna." She lifts her head slowly and rubs her eyes as she sees Wolf poke his head in. "Is she awake?" he asks. She shakes her head, and holds back the urge to sigh. Duke Hardin told her that Diana had woken up, briefly, but fell back asleep. "She'll be fine. She's too damned stubborn to die, and I think not even death wants to deal with her craziness."

"Death nearly took her anyway," she whispers. It had taken three Recover staves to get Diana into stable condition, along with numerous medicines and basically all of her magic. She knows there are soldiers who wonder why they'd 'waste' so much on her, but she ignores them. "Why did she…?"

"She loves you." He says the words so easily that, in a flash of childishness, she almost demands, then, an explanation for why all those who love her, all those _she_ loves, choose to leave, but she stops herself in time. She might be the princess of nothing but hope and ruins, but she had to hold herself high anyway.

So, instead, she simply smiles, and returns her attention back to Diana, who is still deathly pale. "Did I thank you for going back?"

"You did. We were lucky, to run into those healers." Healers from another camp of Aurelisi soldiers, and from some of the local churches and temples that evacuated. They had been making their slow way to this castle, this last sanctuary. "Sedgar thought she'd bleed out before we got her even out of the castle, but we had some basic medical kits on us. Elixirs held her until we got her to the healers."

"Thank you." She squeezes Diana's hand, reassuring herself that there was still a pulse and still a bit of warmth. "She's so small."

"For how loud she is, you forget she's like half the size of everyone."

"She's not _that_ small." She pauses and then looks up at Wolf. "How did she manage to hold them for so long, though?"

"It wasn't the main army who got in, it seems. It was mercenaries, who wanted glory and their pay. I'm guessing they thought they'd get a bonus for taking down the girl who killed their babysitter general." Wolf shrugs. "They were unorganized, and not used to fighting as a team. She was in a hallway when we found her, so…"

"I see."

"It was stupid, though, to not get them into the hallway to start with. The dramatics caught their attention, but they were about to stab her, or worse."

"She was bleeding to death. Surely, that couldn't have been… um..."

"...Female mercenaries risk great… humiliation before dying on the field." Wolf shakes his head. "It is not… uncommon for some to take care of the latter while doing the former."

She shudders at the very thought. "I… see…"

"The arrows… would've made it difficult," a voice suddenly croaked. She jerks her head up and nearly starts crying as she sees Diana is awake. "But that is… a factor in why I jerked the arrow out…" Diana smiles bitterly. "Well, that and scaring them…"

"You scared _us_ ," Wolf scolds. He crosses his arms. "But, then again, as I said, I really doubt death wants to deal with you."

"Oh, yeah, death doesn't know how to have fun." Diana turns her attention to her, and her smile warms. "Hey. Sorry I almost broke my promise, Nyna."

"It's fine," she whispers. "You didn't, so it's fine." The tears stream down her face and she ducks her head. "You're fine, so it's okay." So long as she isn't left alone among strangers, everything would be okay.

"If you're sure," Diana replies, eyes clouding over slightly. "What's that sound?"

"Sound?" She pauses and looks to the door as she hears the rapid footsteps. "What is-?"

Duke Hardin swings around the door and, for the first time, he looks absolutely elated. "Prince Marth is here," he tells her. Everything just seems to still at those words. "He's on the other side of the mountains. There are still Macedonian forces, but I'm going to ride out and meet him."

"Yes, please, do that," she whispers. She smiles, unable to help it. "It seems… our gamble to hold onto hope paid off."

"Do not let your guard just yet. We do not know their numbers, and he is a boy with a legacy thrown on his shoulders." But still, Duke Hardin smiles back. "Rest here with Diana. We'll be back soon."

"Safe travels." She clasps her hands together as he leaves and she turns to check on Diana, whose eyes have lit up too. It had been a long while since she had seen that liveliness. "We're a step closer to that dream, Diana. We're finally a step closer."

Perhaps they'll make it after all.

* * *

 _Marth_

* * *

He had heard many stories of just how beautiful Aurelis is, but he believes that words simply could not do it justice. Even now, ravaged by war, the swaying grass and colorful flowers is nearly enough to take his breath away.

But after a moment of staring, he growls under his breath and shakes his head, cursing his inattention. He is not here, on the edge of camp, to admire the view. He is here to get a feel for the coming battle. They are in Aurelis at last, and they _must_ hurry. Their numbers were few, but even this much would help Aurelis. They had been fighting this war for two years, the same two years that he had spent training and relaxing in Talys.

He curses himself for that weakness. He curses himself for not coming sooner. But he keeps it all quiet, within himself, and tries to use it simply as reminders for why he must keep going. He is the prince of nothing but a broken country and people's faith, but he refuses to let himself falter.

"There you are, Prince Marth." Cain walks up then, looking at him worriedly. "Abel and I were looking for you," he gently chides. "You shouldn't come so close to the edge without posting word."

"I'm sorry, Cain," he replies. He makes himself smile. "I forgot I have two fusspots for knights."

"Considering your tendency to fall into trouble when we were younger, your highness, I think we are justified." Cain smiles slightly. "Actually, didn't you literally fall into a well?"

"I was trying to get a cat out." He remembers that incident, though. Abel and Cain had found him quickly, though it had been… it had been Frey who had gotten him out, with the cat. "What did you need me for?"

"We were just checking on you, my lord. You know how Abel is." Cain shrugs and looks out to the horizon. "What a beautiful land."

"Yes, it is." He looks out again, but finds himself thinking of Altea instead. Their home.

He remembers the fall. He remembers how confused he had been, how lost. He remembers how Kris, in her reluctant kindness, had saved his life. He remembers how Elice had stayed behind to buy him time to run. He remembers Frey doing the same. He thinks of all the people that he left behind to save himself.

He thinks a lot of Gra. He thinks a lot of Jiol, and how much he really, _really_ wants to see Jiol broken and bleeding, much like how he knows his father died. But he also thinks of Frey's last request, and finds his resolve shaken. Some days, he thinks that Jiol's death would make him beyond happy. Others, not so much. He thinks of Kris's questions, reminding him of the request, to make him stop and think.

Kris does that a lot. Makes him think. Supports him and teases him. It's like having another sister, especially since Elise, much as he loves her, had always been a little distant. But Kris is there with him, even as her hands tremble, and he finds courage with her at his side. He knows that if he ever goes too far, she will be there, ready to knock him out if needed. He can march forward with his head held high, thanks to her.

"Your highness, I swear, we will not fall." Cain's soft, resolute words draw him out of his thoughts. "We will liberate Altea," Cain continues, looking right at him. "We are your arms, your swords, ready and willing to fight. Do not hesitate."

"I am forever lucky to have you all," he whispers. He manages a smile. "Truly, I am."

"We are lucky, to have a lord who cares for us." Cain looks back then, and smiles. "We have more company."

"We do?" He turns and his smile softens as he realizes Cain is right. Caeda and Kris are both walking up, faces a bit red from wind. At least, he assumes that, since Kris's face is as red. "Hello, you two."

"Hello, Marth, Cain." Caeda replies, smiling brightly. He's momentarily dazzled by it, as he always is, no matter how many times he sees it. "But I have some possibly good news!" She skips to his side, and he relaxes automatically. Whenever she is near, he feels as if everything will be all right. He feels happy just being by her, and he knows that his time in Talys might've been a horrible trial if not for her and her cheer. "Are you listening?"

"A little," he answers. He laughs a little as she pouts. "Sorry, what is the good news?"

"Well, I did a scout around with Kris, and we flew over to the mountains there." Caeda points to the mountain range to their west for emphasis. "We went really deep in, because Kris thought she saw movement, and we noticed a castle, guarded by troops wearing Aurelis armor."

"Aurelis?"

"Yes, and quite a few!" She beams at him. "We… found them. They're still here, fighting."

"We'd have to approach from the ground, but we can go ahead and check in with them," Kris adds. Her smile is a bit disbelieving, like she cannot quite believe what she's saying, but her eyes are resolute and reassuring. She's more than happy to help. "Want us too? We can probably just have Caeda smile at them and get entry, but I'll be there for backup."

"That… sounds like a good idea," he agrees. He cannot help but smile at the news. They had made it. They were still fighting. He is not too late to help them. "Please, go let them know."

Perhaps they'll make it after all.

* * *

Author's notes: So, a couple of people suggested this, and I decided to go along with it as an experiment, to give some insight into Nyna and Marth's thoughts as we reach a critical point in the story. (namely, starting next chapter, the POVs will finally meet up, and we'll have one continuous story.) The idea of sending Caeda as messenger comes from the manga.

Next Chapter - actually Champions of Aurelis this time, promise.


	12. Chapter 4) Champions of Aurelis

Chapter 4) Champions of Aurelis

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _Aurelis. We're in Aurelis. It feels almost a little unreal. I'd only ever seen in on a map or heard it through rumors. You can see lingering piles of armor and bones in the distance, the only signs of the battles fought here for the past two years._

 _I feel almost a little shaky, looking at everything. I feel way, way out of my depth._

* * *

"What was it that Ogma said while we were heading out?" Caeda asked, glancing over her shoulder. I had to duck down as her hair whipped about and nearly took out my eyes, again. "Oops."

"We need to braid your hair or something," I grumbled. I didn't really see the point in fighters having long hair, especially when worn loose. Hair was an _excellent_ handhold and Caeda didn't have a good death-glare-of-doom like Navarre to keep people from grabbing at it. "It's a lethal weapon in its own right."

"Oh, it's not that bad, is it?" She squeaked as I glowered. "Okay, okay! I'll braid it next time!"

"Yay." I sighed, and ducked under her hair again. "Anyway, Ogma just asked that I take care of you. He was fretting."

"He worries too much."

"Well, he _is_ your guard."

"I told him to protect Marth, though."

"That's your _order_. Protecting you is his choice." I guessed, at least. I swore Ogma was as loyal to Caeda as the Altean Knights were to Marth. "We're getting close, aren't we?"

"Yep~!" She laughed a bit before giving me a concerned look. "Are you recovered from the battle?"

"Yeah, mostly." I glanced at my arms, though, and winced a bit as I remembered the scars on them. I'd _really_ overdone it with that spell, and Lena had given me clear orders to never do anything like that again. If I did, there was a not-so-insignificant chance that I could kill myself. "Nothing to worry about now, at least."

"If you say-WHOA!" She yelped, and I clung to her for dear life as her pegasus, for the first time I'd ever seen, started balking and flailing. "Easy, girl, easy!" She cooed at it, and I tried to just hang on and not fall off considering how freaking high we were! "That's very strange…" She looked off into the distance, frowning. "Something spooked her."

"Can she have waited to be spooked when we're _not_ in the air?" I glanced down and instantly regretted it when I realized just how high we really were. "Maybe we should land. I'm not so sure I want to ride a pegasus that just tried to kill us."

"I'd normally just defend her, but I can't see what spooked her, so I think I'd rather land too. She likely caught something on the wind." Caeda twisted to smile on me. "So, let's find a clearing in the trees and-"

Something whizzed past, and it took me two blinks to realize they were arrows. It took another two blinks to realize that the one that whizzed past us wasn't the only one. It only took one more blink for me to comprehend that a couple of the arrows had pierced the pegasus's wing and we were falling.

Neither Caeda nor I screamed. I was too much in shock and Caeda… well, she was more focused on untying herself from the saddle. Then we hit the trees, and I hit every branch on the way down, breaking quite a few of them before crashing into some shrubs. Pain flooded me, and I groaned as I slowly picked myself up, wincing as scratches and bruises made themselves known.

"Are you okay?" Caeda called. Her voice was thin from pain, but I couldn't really see her since she was still stuck in some shrubbery, and I was trying to decide if I wanted to sit up or just faceplant in the dirt. "Ugh… I messed up…"

"I think I'm fine," I replied. With another groan, I decided to sit up, and discovered that, miracle of miracles, I had broken no bones. "My bruises broke my fall. Why are my bones not broken?"

"Momentum bled off when we hit the branches." Caeda carefully extracted herself from the shrubbery and immediately went to coo over her pegasus, who had managed to land, _land,_ in the path. Though, to be fair, it had arrows and holes in its wings, and that had to hurt. "My poor sweet darling…"

"Any idea who shot us?" I made to stand up, only to hear the snapping of branches. "Never mind, I think we're about to find out." I reached for my tome, and for one of my 'gifts', just in case as some soldiers in Aurelisi armor stepped out of the trees, each with arrows aimed right at us. "Oh, hell, already?"

"...Uh oh." Caeda looked confused, frightened, and a bit sheepish as she scooted over to me, leading her pegasus with her. "You know… in retrospect, maybe flying on a pegasus, which are native to Talys _and_ Macedon, wasn't the best of ideas…"

"...Now that you mention it, yeah, that was pure stupidity on everyone's part." I almost groaned, but instead, I pushed myself up, body protesting every movement, and faced the archers. "She's from Talys, if you can't tell by the strange armor. I'm from Altea."

"Are you now?" one asked cooly. Their eyes narrowed. "And what, exactly, would bring either of you here?"

"We bear a message from Prince Marth for Princess Nyna and Duke Hardin," I replied, almost tripping over the titles. I wasn't used to them, especially for my silly prince. "You can at least tell we're not Macedonians, right? Neither of us are dressed like them."

"No, but you could be mercenaries."

"They could, but no mercenary would wear Talysi armor," another pointed out. They were looking right at Caeda, and the spear hooked on her saddle still. "And that spear is a Wing Spear, a specialty of the Isles. They don't sell those anywhere, especially now." They looked to their leader. "Watched, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt, given our own information."

The group debated a bit more, while Caeda and I squirmed, in pain, but afraid to say anything. But, finally, their weapons fell to their sides, and the first one spoke, "come with us, then. But one step out of line, and you will become our new quivers."

Well, that was a delightfully morbid mental image. This was lame.

* * *

When we were escorted inside, there was a lot more discussion between the soldiers about what to do with us, though they had the kindness to let healers tend to us a bit while they talked. From what I gathered through copious eavesdropping, they'd already known Marth was here, surprisingly enough, and this Hardin guy had gone to meet him. So, only Nyna was here, with some guards and her special bodyguard, to receive us. There was more deliberation that left my ass numb from all the sitting we had to do, but eventually, this Nyna decided to meet with us directly, and we were escorted over to where she was. Surprisingly, though, we didn't meet her in a throne room or anything. Instead, she was waiting for us in pretty luxurious room off down a side wing, with curtains and rugs and everything.

"So, you are messengers from Prince Marth?" Nyna herself was a gorgeous, and stoic, woman, with the poise of a statue, the coloring of one thanks to her pale hair, and the warmth of one until she broke enough to smile slightly. "Well met," she whispered. She sat in a simple wooden chair by the bed, but she held herself like she was sitting in a throne. "You likely already know this, but I am Princess Nyna. I'm grateful Prince Marth would come to our aid."

"He had been greatly worried," Caeda murmured. She curtseyed, but remained standing, despite there being another chair on the other side of the bed. I slumped against the wall nearby, since I had no idea about this formal shit, and because I still felt stiff from the bruisings. "I am Princess Caeda of Talys, Princess Nyna. I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

"Ah, I've heard of you. I remember wishing I could travel and meet you." Nyna's smile grew a little more. This time, it reached her eyes, turning them from chips of ice to a simple blue. "I am very grateful for the chance, despite our circumstances."

"You honor me, Princess Nyna." Caeda smiled softly, and absently moved her spear to her other hand. I had no idea _why_ they let us keep our weapons, but they did, for all their warnings of us being watched. "I'm certain to blush from the praise!"

"Nyna, you can relax a bit." Those soft, almost whispery, words came from the tiny girl sitting in the expansive bed with lots of blankets and pillows. She looked almost as much as a princess classic as Nyna did, what with the golden curls and light blue eyes and frail features, but the way she held herself was very different. It reminded me of Navarre, actually, or Ogma, despite her looking like she was covered in bandages. "She matches the descriptions I know of Princess Caeda," she continued, smiling slightly. Unlike with Nyna, it didn't soften her features at all. However, there _was_ something strangely gentle when she turned to Nyna. "And given where Prince Marth started his mainland journey, and how long he remained hidden despite Medy's best efforts, Talys makes perfect sense."

"I'm glad to hear that," Nyna whispered. She visibly relaxed a little more. "I do like her smile." This time, Nyna's own smile was substantially warmer, and I realized she'd been waiting for the other girl's judgement on us. "Ah, but where are my manners? Princess Caeda, this is Diana, my bodyguard. She was heavily injured protecting Duke Hardin and me in the last battle, which is why I asked for you to come here."

"A pleasure to meet you, Dame Diana," Caeda replied easily. Her smile was warmer now too, likely because Nyna wasn't being as formal. "The scowly one over here is Kris, one of Marth's best friend. She came along as my backup, in case we got ambushed."

"From the sound of it, our own forces did prove that necessary." Nyna reached down and pulled out a healing staff from under the bed. "Do you need healing?"

"None necessary thanks to your healers, but thank you. We just have a few bruises now." Caeda gave the staff a curious look. "Is that one functional, though?"

"...I grabbed the wrong one, it seems." Now Nyna's smile became a little sheepish, and Caeda laughed outright. "My apologies. I was healing Diana when you arrived."

"You mean she's that injured _after_ healing?" I asked, startled. I really couldn't help it. "Wow, what got you?"

"An army and my own stupidity," Diana instantly retorted. She focused on me, eyes somewhere between 'studying' and 'calculating'. "Of course, I had gone into that battle intending to die. We were out of options."

"That easy to throw your life away?"

"No, I am no death seeker. It was a decision I did not come to lightly. But, given the circumstances, it was the only way out I saw." She shrugged, and winced. "I need to remember I can't do that."

"How are you even sitting up?"

"The pillows aren't for luxury. I'm more 'propped' than 'sitting'." She sighed. "Fine showing, huh? I'd hoped to be a little more healed when you lot came, so that I didn't look quite as pathetic."

"You are by no means pathetic, Diana," Nyna instantly retorted. She frowned a little. "You have been my perfect guard for two years despite the trying circumstances, and today is no different in that."

"If you say so, Nyna," Diana replied. As she did, though, I noticed a slight bit of movement. She caught me looking, and smiled slightly before showing me the hilt of a dagger, mostly hidden by the blanket. That was when I decided to do a quick scan around the room, picking out little details. I hadn't had to do it in a while, since I used to use the skill only for finding valuable shinies quickly, so I was a bit rusty, but I still knew enough.

Given the general placement of the bed, chairs, tables, and ourselves, I realized that Caeda and I were in a position where _if_ we had wanted to attack, we'd trip over something quickly unless we attacked from range. From my lessons, and own experience, I knew a range attack would take preparation, allowing Diana to throw the dagger. Maybe she wouldn't have hit either of us, but that would've been enough to buy time for her to get one of the three swords set up oh-so-innocently within easy reach. The nearby window was open, and with the table set up, she could use it as a pivot to throw us out with minimal strain, especially since Nyna proved that there _were_ healing staves here.

I briefly glanced out the door, and saw that there were soldiers stationed nearby, alert with their weapons drawn, and realized that they'd be here in _seconds_ if something happened. Unless Caeda and I were exceptionally fast, we'd likely be dead before Nyna if we attacked. Clearly, these people didn't play when it came to protecting her. I wasn't sure if I was impressed or unnerved, but it did explain why they let us keep our weapons.

While I gathered all this information, Caeda and Nyna continued chatting, and I noticed Diana watching me closely. She smiled slightly, but like before, there was nothing soft about this smile. If anything, the smile was a threat, like a predator baring teeth in warning. It unnerved me, and I wasn't sure if she meant it or not. She was _definitely_ the sort of person I would've given a wide berth if I saw her in the street.

I simply nodded back, not quite sure what else to do, and moved to the window to have an excuse to break eye contact. There wasn't much I could do, especially right now. It was obvious Diana didn't trust us, and I couldn't call her out for it, since it was sorta her job. When I glanced back, though, I saw she wasn't looking at me anymore, but was listening closely to whatever Nyna and Caeda were talking about. I sighed, and looked out, deciding to not pay attention. Instead, I looked at the expansive sky with the sun shining overhead. Then I frowned, because I noticed something strange. There were… dots in the sky. I was certain of it, even if my eyes teared up from looking to confirm. I had no idea why there were 'dots', but there were.

"Hey, girls..." I began slowly. I turned to the other three, and saw that they had stopped their conversation instantly. "So, either I took a harder hit to the head than I thought, or there's these weird 'dots' in the sky?"

"Do they come from the north and east?" Diana asked. She sounded resigned, and Nyna actually closed her eyes. "I'm assuming so, since I think that's the direction that window faces, but I was drugged up on pain herbs when I was told about the room."

"Yeah, I think?" I looked to Caeda. "You're better with directions."

"I think so, yes," Caeda answered. She looked a little thoughtful. "That's the direction my pegasus looked in when she spooked and nearly threw us off."

"A pegasus was frightened?" Diana whispered, looking a little alarmed. Her expression became grave when Caeda nodded. "That confirms it, then. Pegasi are naturally wary of wyverns, and if yours spooked while you were riding, then there's a lot of them." She sighed heavily. "Well, this is going to be lovely."

"D-did we bring them?"

"Well, while I doubt your presence there helped, if they mobilized a large force, it means they were watching, likely waiting for Duke Hardin to be sighted out in the field." She grimaced and slowly, stiffly, began pulling herself out of the bed. "Okay, we need to move."

"Diana, you can't move!" Nyna instantly yelped. All signs of formality and stoic poise disappeared as she rested her hands on Diana's shoulders. "Your injuries…"

"Are not enough to stop me," Diana instantly retorted. She pushed past Nyna to stand, and she almost stumbled as she snagged one of the swords, a brilliant silver one. "We need to move."

"But…"

"I mean it, Nyna." The fierceness in her eyes made it clear that she was going to die trying to walk if that's what it took, and it really might. It clearly took a lot out of her just to move even that much, and already, blood seeped through her bandages and clothes in random little spots.

"I don't know if you're stubborn or just stupid," I muttered. I thought it was more stupid personally, but I also couldn't help but remember Frey, and it was hard to call him 'stupid'.

"Is there a difference between those words in Altea and Talys?" she asked lightly. The tone belied the pain she had to be in, considering how stained her bandages already were. "I'm not completely stupid, though. There's a more defensible room not far away. We're moving there, and then I'm counting on you two to guard it."

"Can you run?"

"Of course I can't." Her smile was wry. "But we're out of options."

"...Then I'm going to even our odds a little." I reached into my pocket for one of my 'gifts' and stepped out into the hallway, noticing that things were already hectic. I wondered if our watchdogs had heard the warning, and sounded the alarm. "Caeda, be guilty later and help, because I'm not sure Diana can walk _and_ fight."

I didn't wait for a reply, just threw one of my 'gifts' and fired a thunder spell to ignite it and fill the hall with smoke. While I did that, Nyna helped Diana hobble out of the room with Caeda close behind, so I fell in with her as we made our way down the hall. When we hit another intersection, I set up another smokescreen to disguise our path, and that was when the sounds of battle started echoing down the halls.

However, just as Diana said, the room she wanted us in was relatively close, and I could see why she wanted us in there as soon as we entered. It was a storage room, with bunches of things to use as shields, no windows or other doors, and even some food and water if we got stuck. I mean; it would still suck because there was no convenient bathroom attached, but the rest of it was… nice. I no longer thought she was completely stupid with loyalty.

"Okay, I don't know your Prince Marth, but knowing Duke Hardin and the messenger systems with the soldiers, I'm almost certain he's on his way back," Diana murmured. She sat on a barrel and it was clear she was having trouble breathing, even if she waved away Nyna's concern. "I'm fine, Nyna. I've still got blood to lose."

"I would prefer if you did not get so close to death again, Diana," Nyna _instantly_ deadpanned, and it startled me. I wouldn't have thought she even had a sense of humor, much less sarcasm. "Please, stay still."

"In a moment. We need to put up a barricade to buy us extra time."

"You know; Caeda and I have perfectly working arms that _aren't_ bleeding yet," I pointed out dryly. I even lifted my arms for emphasis. "We can handle it."

"Do you know how to make a barricade?" Diana asked. While her tone was a bit patronizing, her eyes didn't seem to be. It could've been her natural voice, or how her voice ended up when in pain, and while that was grating, I could at least deal with it. "A proper one?"

"...Well, now that you're asking, I'm assuming it's not exactly 'throw things at door'."

"You can, but it's rare you can maximize the efficiency with that."

"In that case, just direct us," Caeda suggested. She smiled winningly. "I'm sure it's a skill Kris and I should learn anyway."

Diana hesitated, but after a pleading look from Nyna, who was _far_ more expressive now for some reason, she relented and instructed Caeda and I in moving everything as best as we could to maximize a barricade. I had a feeling that even with that, we 'messed up', or at least, didn't do a good enough job to satisfy her, but she said nothing. It made me think that she just didn't trust anyone but herself to do a 'good enough' job, and that made me feel more than a little sour. Still, we got the barrells and the like all organized and stepped back, content to buying us at least a few more seconds if, and when, they came for us.

When we did, I turned to Diana, and noticed Nyna was changing some of the bandages using the spares on hand here. The wounds hiding underneath were jagged, and oozing dark blood. "You said an army got you?" I asked, not even bothering to hide I was staring when both looked up at me. "How did you live again?

"A bunch of stupid luck," Diana answered. Her voice was thin from the pain, and she held herself rigid as Nyna wiped some sort of herbal concoction on the wounds. "Mercenaries that weren't used to working as a group, some first aid, some healers, a lot of healing staves…" She gave Nyna a little look then, but Nyna expertly ignored it. "That's it. I've always been on the luckier side, but even I'm surprised."

"Wish I had _that_ luck when all this started." I sighed, though, and shook my head. I was here, and I was going to stick with Marth until the end. "Oh, right, speaking of luck, how would Duke Hardin know about the attack already? You mentioned that."

"They've been fighting Medy and Macedonia for two years, and have been safeguarding Nyna and me for six months. They've developed very fast ways of communicating, typically through firewatch tower mirrors or smoke signals." She paused a bit before actually turning to look at me. "Right, I almost forgot to ask about that smokescreen you created."

"It's one my little 'gifts'." I pulled another out of my pocket to show her the vial. "It reminded me of the explosives Hannah used. Though, she used these vials that were like two in one, so that she just had to throw them."

"Hannah?"

"One of the Wolf Pack." She smiled, and this time, it was horribly bitter. "She died during the Fall of Archanea. I think."

"You think?"

"I tripped over her body at some point during the fighting, but I wasn't in a situation where I could check her vitals. She never appeared after that, though, so if she lived, she escaped and is gone." She said the words easily, as if they meant nothing, and I found myself a bit unnerved.

Nyna, however, looked sad, so I made a guess that she just… ran away from the pain, like I had done when Grandfather died. "Well, if I find those vials, I'll see about making up some." Her eyes narrowed, and she sighed. "Do they have magic? I thought I heard a fireball."

"How would you know…?" I trailed off as I realized she was right, sorta. There _was_ magic, at least. "I think it's more of a thunder spell, actually."

"A fire spell would make more sense, but maybe these are also mercenaries. Medy and Garf clearly hire for sadism, not smarts."

"Two things." I winced as I heard two or three spells slam into the door, and our barricade rattled. "One, how would you know that?"

"Smart mercenaries wouldn't hire on. There's not exactly good job security with them."

"Okay." The barricade rattled again. This time, it sounded like an axe thudded into it. "Two, what is with the nicknames?"

"I see no point in calling an overgrown lizard and a temperamental child with fetishes for death, destruction, and doom by their names." She picked up her sword as a loud _crack_ hinted the door had splintered, leaving only the barricade. "Nyna, tuck behind me."

"Let Caeda and I take point." I brought up my tome and Caeda shifted so that she really was 'at point'.

"I don't have a choice in the matter." That time, her voice was a growl, and I bristled at it. It wasn't _my_ fault she was lame right now. "Smoke."

"Yeah, now we have some fire." I brought up my hand, and prepped a spell. "Caeda…" I looked to her as the barricade shook and startled falling apart, and smiled when she nodded, knowing what I was going to say. "Okay…"

A spark of magic and the barricade burst apart thanks to a thunder spell. As the pieces fell, a Macedonian soldier wielding a thunder tome looked triumphant, looming in the doorway with their fellows clustered behind. But then, not even a heartbeat later, there was another pulse of magic, and suddenly the wind itself whipped into a frenzy, sharpening into blades that ripped through the soldier, and their comrades, as if they were nothing but paper.

I could only stare, startled. I'd never seen, or heard, of a spell that could control the wind.

"That… must've been one of the Divine Spells," Nyna whispered. Her eyes were wide, but she mostly looked intrigued. "Excalibur, the Divine Blade of Wind. It's supposed to be a treasure of Khadein, on par with Aura."

"Why would that be here?" Caeda asked. She looked at me, a little confused. "You're the only mage _we_ have, and clearly, the Aurelsi didn't have this spell."

"No, but knowing our silly prince, we might've picked up one," I pointed out dryly. I was quickly proven right when I heard Marth's voice echo down the hall. "Wow, that was some timing." I moved past Caeda and the broken barricade bits and poked my head into the hallway. I smiled when I noticed Marth and waved to catch his attention. "You're late, pretty boy."

"It took a bit to figure out which way you went at the last intersection," Marth laughed, walking up. Two people were behind him, a nobleman in white, and a boy in blue robes. "I followed the smoke, though."

"You should've just listened to things breaking." I shrugged and gestured. "Come on. We're in here. Who are those two?"

"Duke Hardin and Merric, a dear friend of mine." Marth stepped into the room, and gave Caeda a warm, relieved smile that made her smile and blush prettily. "Good, both of you are safe." He turned his attention to Nyna and Diana, though. Diana remained seated, with her sword in her lap, while Nyna stood, statue poise in place again. "Princess Nyna." Marth bowed to her. "My apologies for keeping you waiting. But I and mine are here to give you and Duke Hardin reinforcements."

"I am gladdened to see you in good health, Prince Marth," Nyna replied. She smiled slightly, but her demeanor was back to that icy formality. "In my opinion, you are just in time. If we can save formalities for after the battle, however?"

"Yes, certainly." Marth agreed. He straightened and glanced to Duke Hardin, who nodded. "All right, we'll continue with that plan, then." He turned to me. "Kris, with me for now. I've a job for you and Merric."

* * *

The job, it turned out, was sniping the fliers. Merric and I were on the ramparts with archers as our support, while the rest of the army dealt with the ground forces. Marth had _way_ too much faith in people.

"So, my Excalibur spell is supposed to be very effective against fliers, just like arrows," Merric whispered. He gave me a sheepish look. "Since there seem to be some pegasi among the attackers, shall I focus on those while you focus on the wyverns?"

"What, you're not going to be super dramatic again?" I asked, a little sulkily. I had to admit that I was… jealous. I was jealous that he had a spell like this, and could cast it on such a wide scale without having to worry about dying instantly. ...I also felt a little… threatened. I had trained with my magic to keep up with Marth, and I felt a little shaken that there was _another_ mage, with a much more powerful spell, who did the same. From what I'd gathered, he'd even escaped Khadein just to meet with Marth here!

"Well, I could try, but I think it might knock me out this time." He laughed like it was no big deal, and another surge of jealousy washed through me. "They're coming."

"Yeah." I brought up my tome and called thunder around my fingers as I picked out a line of wyverns to target. "Let's go."

I threw the first strike, catching seven in one go. The wyverns screeched as the magic ripped through them, scorching wings and sending them and their riders crashing to the ground with sickening splats. To my surprise, a few wyverns were spooked by the magic and actually threw their riders, with one or two actually 'splatting' against the wall below us. I… guessed that wyverns were just genuinely afraid of magic, like how pegasi were wary of wyverns.

The wyverns flew high as Merric loosed his Excalibur spell, likely expecting to be the targets, and that left the pegasus riders sitting targets when the spell came for them instead. He killed seven easily, and the wyverns _really_ spooked that time, twisting and fighting their riders, and made them easy targets for the archers by us.

The soldiers around us cheered. Merric put a hand to his mouth, though, and he was looking about as green as his hair, if not greener. "Ugh…" he groaned, closing his eyes as another wyvern shook its rider off and they fell _right_ on the edge of the ramparts in front of us. My own stomach turned when I heard their spine _snap_ and they started screaming and sobbing from the pain. Their arms flailed about, but their legs remained eerily still. "I…"

I debated pushing them off. I debated firing a thunder spell. I even debated just covering their mouth to suffocate them. Anything to stop their pain and to stop the screaming. But instead, I grabbed them under their shoulders, flinched as their flailing hit me in the face, and pulled them off the ramparts, onto our side. "Get them to Lena and the healers!" I snapped to the nearby soldiers. They stared at me with wide eyes, and no few of them looked ready to murder _me_. "Why are you standing there?" Anger, however, flooded me as they continued to remain still. "By all of the damn gods, _they're a soldier just like you_!"

They still hesitated, but as the Macedonian soldier in my arms started just sobbing, voice raw and cracking from all the screaming, one finally stepped over and took the soldier from me. They weren't… particularly gentle about it, but they made a point to keep their weapons away as they carried the soldier. I watched them leave before returning my attention to the battle and shooting off a thunder spell to score a direct hit on a wyvern rider and sending the charred bodies crashing to the ground. I wasn't sure why I chose to save _that_ one. Maybe it was just because they were in front of me. It was easy to be distant when they weren't in front of me, dying.

"Well, that was certainly a thing," Merric whispered. His tone was light, but he looked even greener. "Quite a thing indeed."

"I suppose," I replied. I glanced at him. "You all right?"

"Well, I didn't exactly learn magic with the intention of killing people." He narrowed his eyes, though, and threw another spell to slice off another pegasus's wings. The rider fell with an ear-piercing scream. "But this is war, and we must do what we can. If we can end this even a second sooner…"

"...That was supposed to be a simple 'yes' or 'no' question, not a philosophical one."

"Ah, sorry, I'm used to Khadein. We're always philosophizing."

"I'm not one of your classmates." I had to fight off the urge to growl, and I knew anger bled into my voice. "If you need to go be sick, go ahead, but don't stand here and be a target."

"Oh, no, I made sure not to eat so that I didn't have anything to throw up."

"There's this thing called 'bile' that you can still puke, and it's kinda smelly and painful, at least in my experience." I shook my head, and went back to concentrating on the fliers. But their numbers were thinning, thanks to our magic and the archers. So, after firing a few more spells, I looked down, curious about the battle below.

There, in the courtyard, Hardin and Jagan coordinated the cavalry to handle any reinforcements that tried to enter through the destroyed gates. Cain and Abel had point, with two mounted archers that I didn't recognize covering them from behind. Marth had command of the battle within the walls of the castle, ordering separate groups to push the enemy into easily controllable groups to be taken down systematically.

A flash caught my attention, and I looked down to see Ogma and Navarre were tag-teaming against a particularly armored person. The fanciness of that armored made me think they were the enemy leader for this operation.

Two thudding heartbeats later, Ogma blocked the enemy's spear and Navarre used Ogma's back as a platform to flip up and bring his sword on the enemy's head, splitting the skull in two. The whole battlefield froze, as if the enemy couldn't even _begin_ to believe that we had taken their commander down. But Marth took advantage of that silence and brought his sword up in the air to catch the light and bring everyone's attention to him.

"Soldiers of Macedon, your commander has fallen!" he declared loudly. The wind kicked up them, making his cape billow dramatically around him. "Surrender and you may keep your lives!"

Absolute silence fell as his words echoed. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as the Macedonians stared at him, not certain if he was serious. But, slowly, they realized he was and, after a moment of hesitation, they laid down their weapons and knelt in silent surrender.

I suppose dramatics had some uses after all.

* * *

"And that essentially summarizes our current condition," Hardin finished summarizing. He, this guy named Wolf, Marth, Nyna, Diana, and me were all clustered in this small office in the castle while the rest of the army tended to the injured, made sure the dead were actually dead, and cleaned things up. "Truly, your arrival could not have been better timed."

"In my opinion, I could've come sooner," Marth murmured. He bowed to Nyna and Hardin. "Again, I am sorry it took me so long."

"Enough with the apologies, Prince Marth." Hardin smiled slightly. "Your exploits have reached us fast, and even the rumors were enough to bolster our morale. I feel we have gained a thousand soldiers today, and your army proved themselves quite worthy of the rumors."

"I'm honored to hear that from you." Marth straightened to smile back. "My father always spoke very highly of you and your strength, Duke Hardin."

"He was a good man. I'm sorry he left this world so soon, and left you quite the legacy."

"Well, I simply have to do what I can." Marth turned to Nyna, who was one of only two people sitting at this little meeting. Diana was the other one, sitting on the arm of Nyna's chair, with fresh bandages. "Princess Nyna…"

"Why don't we skip the formalities entirely?" Princess Nyna suggested. She was in this warm-but-not-warm poise. I might've believed it perfectly friendly if I hadn't seen how she'd fussed over Diana earlier. "It seems silly, especially since you and Duke Hardin are clearly the best of friends, Prince Marth."

"W-well…" Marth mumbled, coughing a bit in embarrassment. Hardin simply laughed, perfectly relaxed. "It's hard to not be friends when you've fought alongside each other."

"I shall yield to a warrior's knowledge on that." Still, she glanced at Diana, who grinned at whatever Nyna silently said. "But, if I may, what will be the plan of attack for now? According to the scouts, the Macedonians pulled back quite a bit."

"So much so that they've actually left the main palace under skeletal guard," Hardin confirmed. He looked to Wolf, who nodded. "I have it under authority that there are many hostages there, including my brother. If rumors are true, then there are hostages from all over hiding there." For some reason, Diana's interest looked piqued at that, but she said nothing and no one commented on it. "If we can reclaim it, then we have two decisive victories against the Macedonians."

"The trick will be getting in without risking the hostages," Marth sighed. He looked a little forlorn, but then his eyes lit up as he looked to me. "Oh, Kris, can you sneak in?"

"I'd need a map," I replied. I crossed my arms and shrugged, leaning back against the wall. "If I had one, then Julian and I could sneak in."

"That might be good, if Duke Hardin doesn't mind." He turned to Hardin with a smile. "Kris and Julian are former thieves."

"Well, there are few better when it comes to sneaking in," Hardin murmured. He looked conflicted for a split second before nodding. "I will see if there is a map you can borrow, and try to remember any that I personally know of."

"So, will we pushing forward in the morning?" Princess Nyna asked. Her demeanor and eyes were perfectly calm. "Or the day after?"

"Probably the day after, and we'll spend all day tomorrow planning. It will be a difficult operation, but I do believe we can pull it off." He bowed to her. "Have faith, Princess Nyna."

"I always do, Duke Hardin." She looked down briefly before looking to Diana again. When Diana nodded, some stubborn resolve came into Nyna's eyes. "Very well. Then, this time, I shall like to assist directly in the infirmary."

"You… what?" Hardin, Wolf, and Marth all looked startled. I wasn't, but I'd seen her healing before. "Your highness, you are a skilled healer, but the infirmary during a battle…"

"Your soldiers do not fight in only your names, Duke Hardin, Prince Marth. They fight in mine as well." She drew herself up, as regal as if she were on a throne. "With more soldiers come more injuries. It is time that I show the soldiers I am grateful with more than just my smiles and my words. I will not simply wait."

"But…"

"She's been thinking about this for the past month, Duke Hardin," Diana added. She locked eyes with him and smiled slightly. "We had the debate, and I lost. You won't win either. And if you're worried about protection, the infirmary would need a guard anyway." She nodded to her bandages. "I can't run around with these injuries, but thanks to Sister Lena, I am at a point where I can fight, especially with other healers nearby. If Nyna's there, then you won't have to spare a much-needed soldier for the job. I can take it."

"You've thought this out," Marth murmured. He smiled and laughed a bit, looking to Hardin. "Well, I've learned that there are few things more stubborn than a woman certain she is in the right. Caeda was supposed to stay home in Talys, but nope."

"Of course she came along," I instantly retorted. " _You're_ here, and what else would she sigh over." Laughter rippled through the room as Marth yelped. "But yeah, we'll need more healers." I thought of the soldier I saved, and wondered how they were. "So…"

"Let's debate more in the morning? It's late." There was a bit more talking, mostly for politeness, but soon, we were all dispersing to deal with whatever we needed to and to spread the word.

We were retaking Aurelis Castle in two days. The counterattack began now.

* * *

 _Records on Gordin:_

 _18 year old Archer, the youngest of the Altean Knights_

 _Fiercely patriotic, even more so than most of the knights, and a dislike of bandits_

 _Despite his skill, his crippling self-confidence dampens his potential_

 _Apparently has a little brother, though he does not talk much about him, mostly because he has no idea what happened to his family, and doesn't want the fear to overwhelm him_

 _Records on Draug:_

 _22 year old armored Knight of Altea, whose strength was the stuff of gossip back in Altea_

 _Humble and honorable, he is protective over the younger members of the group, particularly Gordin, his childhood friend, and Norne, our only 'willing' volunteer_

 _Specializes in lancework, though he uses a different style than the other knights due to being primarily an on-foot fighter_

 _Surprisingly fast when you take into account the heavy armor. He trains wearing heavier stuff, after all._

 _Records on Norne:_

 _17 year old Archer, who willingly volunteered to leave with us when we fled Altea for reasons still unknown_

 _She has a remarkably cheerful personality, especially considering everything, even taking her lack of direction in perfect stride._

 _Not a very strong archer, but very fast and skilled to make up for it_

 _She's very close to Gordin and Draug, likely due to all the practice._

* * *

Author's notes: And now, the POVs have joined up! The ambush on the castle is based off the manga, as is Marth ordering the surrender after the commander falls and pegasi being afraid of wyverns. In FE1, Excalibur was tied solely to Merric, though in FE11, this was changed to any (male) magic user with a B rank in tomes (with Merric being able to use it at rank E), thanks to the reclassing feature. It is the only wind spell in Fe1/11, though Fe12 introduced another wind spell (which we will say was crafted during the time skip). It being a 'super magic'/'divine spell' comes from the manga, which I kept to highlight how unique the spell is.

Merric is normally recruited in Chapter 4 of FE11 by visiting a village, while you also get another unit in that chapter, Matthis, while you recruit Wendell, Hardin, and the Wolfguard quad during chapter 5. Matthis was still recruited, but off-screen since Kris wasn't around, while Wendell's recruitment is being pushed back to the next chapter.

Next Chapter - Fire Emblem


	13. Chapter 5) Fire Emblem

Chapter 5) Fire Emblem

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _It happened. It actually happened. Prince Marth made it to us. His army is smaller than we would've hoped, most of which seem to be mercenaries, but they are loyal to him, and they are not exhausted by months upon months of hopeless fighting. They will be enough to spark life back into our forces, and enough to get the momentum going, providing that we can recapture Aurelis Castle._

 _...I hope we can do this._

* * *

"Dame Diana, do you know where-?"

"Left back corner over there."

"Thank you!" The girl scampered off, and it took me a second to remember her name, Sister Lena. She'd once broken into Archanea Castle to gather funds for the poor, and now, she served in the army. It was little things like that to make you wonder just what sort of game the gods might be playing with us.

"Diana!" Nyna raced up then, tripping slightly on the hem of her skirt. "Ah, this dress…" she muttered, glowering at her skirts. "Perhaps I should change after all."

"There's not enough time at the moment," I pointed out. I slowly crouched, feeling like my bones were creaking, and then lifted her skirts and tied them up using some cords. "I know it's improper to show your legs, Nyna, but this will keep you from tripping. I'll find you a pair of pants for you to change into later."

"Thank you." She smiled, though I could tell she was a little uncomfortable. Baring ankle was scandalous in Archanea's court, and I had her skirts gathered to just below her knee. "Oh, yes, the-"

"Right back corner."

"You're a wonder, Diana!" She helped me up, made sure I was set up in my chair, and then went off.

I sighed, and leaned back in the chair, trying not to wince as pain ricocheted through me. It was two days since Prince Marth's forces joined ours, and preparations were underway to retake Aurelis Castle. I was sitting in the infirmary since Nyna insisted on assisting with preparations for it since she'd be working in it, but I couldn't do anything. My injuries throbbed in protest, and my muscles keened bitterly at even the little bit of movement it had taken to crouch and tie something up.

I hated it. I hated myself. A mercenary's worth was determined by how they could fight, and right now, I was pretty damn worthless. Worse, I was useless since even walking was enough to strain me. The only reason I didn't curse Wolf and Sedgar for saving my life was so that I could keep my promises to Nyna and Camus, but how was I supposed to do that when a single step resulted in my body wanting to fall apart?

A little bit of laughter caught my ear, and I looked out through the open tent flap to see a flushing Prince Marth and a laughing-to-the-point-of-tears Kris just a few steps away. Clearly, she had been teasing him mercilessly, likely over Princess Caeda.

I studied the two, fascinated by them. Looking at them side by side, you'd swear they were siblings, twins even. They had the same colored hair and eyes, and they had similar enough features, though those features were fairly typical for Alteans. They were even about the same height. The main way you picked them out in a crowd was that they wore different clothing, and held themselves very differently.

Prince Marth wore clothes that were simple, but befitting his station, and held himself with an awkward sort of confidence. Kris, on the other hand, dressed to blend into a crowd, with simple armor and clothes with absolutely no extra bit of decoration, and held herself 'at ease', ready to move and yet relaxed. It was easy to see that she was a former thief; blending in was a highly valued skill in that line of work.

But even then, their cloaks matched perfectly. From behind, you'd only be able to pick out Kris because her hair was longer, drawn into a ponytail, and if they'd had their hoods up, you likely wouldn't be able to guess which one was which. The whole thing was fascinating, really, more so because it was very, _very_ clear that this wasn't something planned, really. It was all just complete and total coincidence.

Or maybe not. While Altea had some of the strictest laws of the continent with it came to adultery (death to the adults involved, with the child basically thrown onto the streets as being 'unclean'), if a royal was the one who broke that law, they'd get away with it. It was just how these things worked. The chances were hopelessly small, but it was an intriguing line of thought.

While I'd been lost in thought, the two of them wandered off, replaced by some people I thought might be new recruits, based on how 'new' their armor looked and how they just looked about aimlessly. Glancing at the others working in the infirmary, I pushed myself out of my chair, wincing all the while, and hobbled over to ask them to help the healers set up.

We'd need all the help we could get, and new recruits always had the best information, especially when you didn't have specialized spies. Both were important, especially now.

* * *

"Basically, the catacombs below are clear of everything but sewage, corpses, and rats," Kris explained. She spoke lightly and quickly, visibly annoyed with having to give a report in the first place. It was clear that she was only giving the report at all because Prince Marth had asked, even if it was a small gathering of people. Just the three highest ranked people, minus Princess Caeda who bowed out of the discussions this time, and their right hand bodyguards. "So, it'll be easy to lead some forces there, providing they've got strong stomachs. The smell is nauseating."

"How many doors did you say were confirmed unlocked, and without guard?" Prince Marth asked. He and Duke Hardin were at the 'head' of the table here, side by side as the leaders of the army. Nyna was seated on the opposite side, listening to everything quietly, with me propped up on the arm of her chair to avoid having to stand. "Five?"

"Six, pretty boy. Stop thinking of ways to woo Caeda." Kris was standing at the corner, right by Prince Marth, mirrored by Wolf on Duke Hardin's other side. Wolf looked appropriately scandalized by how easily Kris teased her liege lord. "There's possibly more, but there were signs of patrols having recently passed by, so any who want to try those doors need to have good ears, and keen smarts."

"Pros of using those entrances?"

"Closer to everything, really. The reason why those six doors are unattended is because they're in far corners or storage rooms. Julian went ahead and picked a few of those doors, though."

"I see." Prince Marth frowned, and turned to Duke Hardin. "If they're out of the way, it would take longer for them to meet a frontal assault."

"However, they would be more likely to sneak behind and assassinating the enemy general," Duke Hardin pointed out. He frowned a little. "I worry also of the treasury. We will need funds going forward, and the Macedonians know this. If they retreat, they might take substantial parts with them."

"So, we need a task force to secure the treasury, another to sneak inside, a third to provide a distraction on front…" Prince Marth sighed. "Our numbers are few. We have heard that the Macedonians have pulled back, and there's a skeletal staff, but if they get reinforcements..."

"About that…" I began. I tried to push myself up, but couldn't, so I continued sitting on the arm of Nyna's chair. Falling wouldn't be very dignified, and I had to give a good impression for Nyna too. "I've heard a few rumors that Princess Minvera has deemed that losses here in Aurelis have exceeded 'acceptable' and is pulling out of the campaign here entirely, taking the bulk of the army with her." I glanced at Duke Hardin, and he nodded slowly. He and I both met her, and he and I both decided that seemed quite like the person we had seen and fought with. "If true, then numbers in the castle will be small, smaller than we expected, strategically set up. That'll make it easier to sneak around."

"She's right on the last part," Kris added. She crossed her arms, and glanced at the ceiling. "From what Julian and I could see, we're dealing with _very_ few numbers for a castle. Hardin here-" She paused and glowered at Wolf suddenly. "Would you stop wincing every time I open my damn mouth?"

"You do not show proper respect," Wolf instantly growled. I facepalmed while Duke Hardin tried, and failed, to silently get Wolf to calm down. "To anyone."

"Don't see why that's _your_ problem."

"You disrespect Coyote."

"He's not complaining, so obviously, it's not that bad."

"You-!"

"Kris, just ignore him," I finally interrupted. Both of them looked to me. "He didn't like me at first either. Thought I was too much of a maid, and not enough of a guard. Then I killed a bunch of people."

"It's not _my_ fault you only have two moods," Wolf muttered as Kris laughed. Prince Marth and Duke Hardin both looked like they had no idea how to react; I knew Nyna was trying desperately to not laugh. "Mother and murder."

"You're just repeating Roshea."

"It's _true_."

"Isn't that only one mood, though?" Prince Marth asked thoughtfully. He frowned a little, and there was quite a bit of pain in his eyes. "Elice always told me that few things were more terrifying than a mother defending her own. She used it as an explanation for why Father was always scared of making Mother lose her temper."

"But Nyna is her best friend, not her child," Kris replied. She simply frowned, and it was easy to see that this concept of 'mothers being scary' eluded her. "I'm not sure that applies."

"You haven't seen Diana fuss," Duke Hardin instantly retorted. He actually grinned. "She gave my brother the third degree over silver thread."

"It was a dull muted gray that did not match Nyna's dress," I deadpanned. Nyna ducked her head to hide her smile, even as Duke Hardin laughed. "I _needed_ silver, or at least a lighter bit of grey."

"And you yelled at him because of a green dress."

"No, I wrote him a stern letter on _that_ one. I think." I paused. "Wait, are we talking about the bile-green one or the ugly green-grey one? I do vaguely remember snapping about the latter."

"I was thinking the blue-green one."

"That was not a true blue-green. It was a horrendous mix of greys and browns that pretended to be blues and greens." I rolled my eyes, now remembering the dress in question. "I gave up after that one."

"We are quite off topic," Nyna finally murmured. I knew that she only interrupted because she was _rapidly_ losing the battle with her own laughter. "I am no warrior, or strategist, but it might be best to come up with two plans that start the same, to account for numbers."

"Yes, that is probably best," Prince Marth sighed. He sulked for half a second, likely because he'd enjoyed the bantering, but turning serious. "So, Duke Hardin, I was thinking…"

Talks gradually turned back to the coming battle, but it didn't escape me that Kris and Wolf exchanged glares over the map. Nyna gave me the most 'how the hell am I going to survive this?' look, and I leaned into her slightly to reassure her.

We'd make it through this, one day at a time.

* * *

The wounded came quickly after the battle began. They were herded out of the fighting, all the way back to the infirmary tent where I met them alongside some other guards, soldiers I didn't know, to help them inside. Once they were there, there wasn't much I could do. I might have a cleric's training, but that was a long time ago. I had field training, and I used what knowledge I had to buy time and to determine who needed treatment now, who could wait, and who wouldn't live even with treatment, but with my injuries, sorting the injured was about all I could do. With no enemies approaching, I simply held the hands on the dying, and let them not be alone.

The worst ones were the younger soldiers. The kids, the ones who were fifteen, sixteen, and had been so ready to fight 'for what is right'. So certain that they were invincible, that sure, people died, but not _them_ , and not _their_ friends. They screamed and sobbed as they died, as their friends died, all thoughts of dignity forgotten as they called for their parents with their last breaths. Those ones echoed in my head long after they ceased to breathe.

"Dame Diana, you can take a rest," Sister Lena murmured to me after another one died. She looked rather haggard, with blood smeared all over her face and neck. A patient had flailed and worsened their wound to the point of severing a vein or artery or… something. They'd splattered everything, and died. "You've been…"

"I'll rest when Nyna rests," I replied firmly. Both she and I knew Nyna wouldn't take a break, just as we both knew _she_ wouldn't take a break. "I can't stand outside and guard, not with my legs. But I can at least comfort the dying."

"But…" She sighed, shaking her head. "No, you're right. Having someone near keeps them calmer. I just…" She stiffened suddenly and, two blinks later, I did as well. Magic. Someone was using magic near, and none of _our_ guards were mages. "That was…"

"Move a little further back and shove the barricades up like we discussed." I pushed myself up slowly, wincing as everything protested. "Ugh…"

"You should…" She trailed off, shaking her head again. "No, never mind. But after this battle, when things are calmer, I want to give you another bit of healing, on top of whatever you'll need in a moment."

"Yeah, sure." I gave her a tight smile. "Tell Nyna I'll be back soon, okay?"

I didn't bother waiting for a reply. Instead, I hobbled my way out of the infirmary tent, hoping that battle-fever would chase away the pain and not hamper me too much. I was already a bit uncoordinated, and the battle-fever might make it worse.

Then again, I was already doing better than the others. I stepped out to charred corpses wearing blackened armor. I didn't even need to nudge the bodies to know that they were dead.

"Oh, bother, another one?" Standing not far away was a person in red robes and no armor, wielding a red tome. The emblem on the cover hinted it was an Elfire Tome, and I grit my teeth at the sight. This was _definitely_ going to be a pain. "Well, I'm sure you'll fall as quickly as the others," they sighed, already conjuring up an Elfire. Since they were aiming only at me, I decided that a - they knew Nyna was here and wanted to capture her, b - they were going for hostages, or c - they were stupid. The tent was flammable, after all, and they couldn't sniped people as we handled evacuations if they were just here to kill people. "Die now."

"That didn't work for the last person stupid enough to say that," I grumbled, thinking of Midia. I hoped she was okay, for all that I still thought her silly. "It won't work now." Of course, it almost _did_ , because I couldn't dodge very well due to wounded legs, but I managed to dodge _enough_ to avoid the worst of it, though my sleeve and the bandages underneath were burnt and tattered. My own resistance to magic protected me from the rest. Thankfully.

"...Well, that's new." They actually pouted. I was rapidly deciding that 'option c' was the correct choice about why they didn't attack the infirmary. "Fighters are bad with resisting magic."

"Guess I'm the gods' way of saying you don't know everything." I lunged, hoping to just kill them there, but I moved stiffly and my swings were telegraphed, so they jumped out of the way. "Damn…" If I was going to do this, I _had_ to do it quickly and, worse, I was going to have to duck under their guard to make it work. I didn't want to risk them getting smart or being forced into a situation where I made the choice between getting hit and likely dying, or dodging and dooming the infirmary.

"You're rather pathetic, aren't you?" They laughed, and I firmly decided that they were just plain stupid. They talked too damn much. "Look at you, bleeding all over the place." A quick glance down proved they were right. My wounds had reopened already. I needed to end this in one strike or I was going to die. "Aw, poor little bird, all broken and bleeding…~"

"Well, things are broken and bleeding, but your fellows broke the wrong part of me." I settled my feet and gathered what strength I had left. "They broke my wings." I waited for them to lift their hands for a spell. Only then did I surge forward, ducking under their arms to get inside their guard. The half-formed magic whipped across my back and almost made me black out from the pain alone, but I managed to stumble the last step and run them through. "And, like you, they forgot I still had my talons." I smirked as they gasped and coughed up blood. "May you remember this lesson in your next life." I jerked the sword out of their gut and stumbled back as they flopped to the ground like a dead fish, trying desperately to remain standing. Everything was shaky, and keening in pain, and I was almost hyper-aware of the blood trickling down my arms, legs, and abdomen. My back spasmed, protesting the magic hit.

Nyna was going to kill me.

"Oh, my, that's quite a lot." A voice I didn't recognize made me jerk up, and try to swing my sword. But the movement was so weak that the person, an old man, parried it with a staff. "Be still," he chided. He wore the robes of a Khadein sage. "You have done too much."

"I'm the only guard," I hissed back. My voice even shook, but at least my anger at being patronized bled through. "The others got blasted, I fought an enemy, and then strange old men come walking up. What the hell were _you_ thinking?" Yes, perhaps I shouldn't be hair-triggered since I was an infirmary guard and I didn't know everyone in the army, but gods damn it, I _literally_ just got done killing someone.

"I was thinking that you needed healing before you died."

"Say _that_ first, damn it." Still, I held still as his staff glowed, and some of my pain ebbed away. "I'm Diana, Nyna's bodyguard. You are?"

"Sage Wendell of Khadein. Merric, who I think you met briefly, is one of my students." Sage Wendell brought his staff down with a small smile. "I angered Gharnef with my refusal to assist him, and so, I was sent here to be dealt with. Strangely, though, the soldiers seemed far too busy dealing with other things, so I was enjoying tea in my cell with a young thief named Ricard before another thief named Julian freed us both. A young mage called 'Kris' told me to come help in the infirmary."

"You'll want to talk to either Nyna, pale blond, or Sister Lena, Macedonian red, inside. Or Brother Wrys, the only guy, but he's _way_ quieter." I nodded to the tent. "I'll be back in after a moment. I want to make sure this one had no friends."

"If so, call for me. I do have a tome on hand, though my age makes me unsuited for fighting." He smiled gently and ducked inside the tent.

I simply sighed, and told my bruised pride to shut up when it tried to bristle at the idea of 'needing help'. I knew very well that I was only reacting this way because I was at my worst when injured, just as I also knew very well that if it had been Charles or any of the others in the Wolf Pack offering, I would've just rolled my eyes and shrugged it off. But, of course, it wasn't them. The Wolf Pack was gone, falling with Archanea, and any who came to help me were strangers. I'd best suck it up if I was going to protect Nyna, and keep my promises. Especially now.

But it hurt to remember that they really were gone, much more so than the reopened wounds and strained muscles. This was why I tried to run away from it. But I was too tired to do that _and_ protect Nyna. I had to pick, and Nyna won over myself, every time.

That's what it meant to have my loyalty. So, I'd deal with it. Slowly.

* * *

"I'll make you some better gloves later, Nyna," I murmured as I secured the make-shift… well, they were more like arm-covers than actual gloves. Gloves were my weakness when it came to sewing; I found them even harder to mend. But they would work, so I made sure they were on Nyna's arms, tucked under her sleeves to hide the bandages. "Make do for now."

"I think they're perfectly lovely as they are," Nyna replied. Her hands shook in mine, and her voice was very small and soft. "You… you're certain there was no more blood?"

"Nyna, the only blood on your arms was your own." After the battle, and after doing all we could for the infirmary, I'd claimed a guest room for Nyna so that she could change her clothes and wash the blood off. I'd made the mistake of leaving her alone, though, to confirm with Duke Hardin that we'd have formal meetings with King Stephen at a later date. I'd returned to Nyna scrubbing herself raw, so certain that the blood of all the injured and dead was still on her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone."

"You did-"

"It was your first time working in an infirmary. It was a mistake to think you could cope because you managed to make it through Archanea's fall." I finished fussing over the arm-covers and gripped her hands as tightly as I could. "I'm sorry. I should've been here for you."

"..." Nyna chose not to reply, instead shifting to lay her head on my lap and closing her eyes. "I'm glad I chose to." Her voice was a little more even now, and I rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she slowly began crying. "It was hard. Gods, it was hard. I can remember all those who died no matter what I or the others did. But I saved some of them. They smiled at me."

"Yes, you did well. And next time, you'll do better, because you have a better idea of what you're getting into."

"Yes." She sighed heavily, before laughing a little. "Murder and mother."

"Roshea termed that. I do rather like the phrase."

"I can see it. My own mother would have me curl up on her lap. I wonder if this is what growing up with a big sister would've been like."

"It depends on the sister." I hesitated before continuing. "I had two. My elder-eldest was distant, but the other one was basically my mother. My own was too busy playing courtly games and having affairs." Though, when I had run away, it was been my elder-eldest sister who had distracted the guards for me. She and my older brother had been the only ones on 'my' side, that day.

"How many siblings did you have, before you ran away?"

"Five. An older brother, two older sisters, a younger sister, and a younger brother. The younger two were twins." I winced as I thought of them. I prayed _she_ hadn't been the one sacrificed in my place.

"Do you ever want to reconnect with them?"

"Not especially. I'm a different person now." I didn't even use my birth name anymore. I was 'Diana' now. Dad had been the one to rename me, naming me after the heavenly huntress of legend. Diana was who I remain, no matter what. "I suppose I wonder what happened to them, from time to time. Just my siblings, though. My parents could go die in a fire, and I'd laugh at the ashes."

"I wonder what they did, to make you hate them so." Her tone implied the question, but just as always, I couldn't quite voice it. I couldn't admit to it, even now. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Nyna. I'll be fine."

"Okay." She might've said more, but a soft knocking cut her off. "Who's…?"

"You asked Prince Marth to meet with you after dinner. That was a mark ago."

"Oh." She sighed and slowly sat up before standing and moving to sit in a chair set up in the corner. She looked small and fragile for a moment before she looked up at me. "Do I look presentable?" The knocking came again. "Oh…"

"One moment, please," I called before limping to the bathroom and wetting a towel with cold water. "Nyna, just close your eyes and leave it to me."

She did just that and, between cold water to ease the puffiness and some makeup, I had her looking mostly like she hadn't been crying. She still looked off and tired, but I figured Prince Marth wouldn't mind. Then, with a reassuring smile, I opened the door and let Prince Marth in.

"My apologies if I came later than expected," Prince Marth murmured. He walked over to Nyna and knelt to her. "You mentioned after dinner, but Caeda said you'd probably want a bit of time to yourself."

"It was nice to spend some time in quiet, yes," Nyna replied quietly. I could see her struggling to remain calm, and almost went to her. However, she subtly shook her head, and then nodded to the cloth covered thing in the corner, the one thing she had insisted on having moved here before she took her bath. The Fire Emblem. I realized now… just what she planned on doing. "I apologize for calling you so late."

"It's fine, Princess Nyna. I'll likely be up for a few hours still." Prince Marth lifted his head slightly and smiled. "I tend to… overthink."

"I understand that. We are the ones who must bear the legacy of the heroes, and to mend this broken, bloody home of ours." She smiled politely at him. "I'm quite powerless to do this alone, though. Might I count on your aid?"

"Of course, Princess Nyna." Prince Marth bowed his head again. "Altea has always taken our fealty to Archanea seriously, and it is my destiny as Anri's heir to destroy Medeus. I will gladly give you all the aid my meager strength can grant, and welcome your support and guidance."

"You are too kind." She hesitated before nodding to me, this time more openly. "Then please, let me give you this." Her words turned a little wooden, but I knew I was the only one who noticed. "One of the sacred treasures of Archanea." I walked slowly over to the Fire Emblem and picked it up, removing the cloth to reveal it. It was the first time I'd actually seen it properly since Camus had given it to her. "This is the Fire Emblem, Prince Marth, the Shield of Archanea's Champion." She reached for it, but I shook my head and presented it to Marth myself. She gave me a small, sad-relieved smile; she knew I'd done it to try and 'split' the supposed curse between us. "We bestow it when the world is in danger, to those we believe have the light that can guide us out of the dark."

"I am honored." Prince Marth took it reverently and peered at it as he slowly stood "Is it… a literal shield as well?"

"It is. I hope it helps guard you in battle." Nyna glanced at me then, and I nodded, knowing what she wanted now. This was more in line with what I'd been expecting. "But, if we might move past formalities, won't you join me for a bit of talk and tea? It would be nice to get to know you, Prince Marth, and Diana brews quite a fine cup of tea."

"That… would be nice, actually." Prince Marth smiled slightly, and set the Fire Emblem against the wall. "Though, I'm really not all that interesting…"

I left the two of them then, carefully shutting the door behind me. I took one step away from the room, and tensed, sensing someone nearby. I relaxed, though, when I glanced around and realized the person was only Duke Hardin. I almost called out, but I faltered, noticing the strangely dark look on his face. Dark, bitter, and pained…

It only took me a second to realize what the expression was, and why he had it. He was… jealous. Duke Hardin was jealous. He was jealous that Prince Marth had been given the Emblem, and not him.

He glanced up then and saw me. He smiled bitterly and he shook his head. I nodded, understanding. Yes, he was jealous, but he would not let his pride get in the way of the job. As his smile softened in thanks, I realized that he did genuinely like Marth as well, and so, didn't begrudge him, or Nyna. He was just… jealous, and the feeling would pass, in time.

"What is it that you need?" he asked me instead. "Sister Lena asked me to fetch you for additional healing."

"She did?" I replied, startled. I would've thought she was too tired to even remember her offer, much less… actually keep her word. "I…" I hesitated before nodding. I wanted to return to full health as soon as I could. I needed to, for Nyna's sake and mine. "I was fetching tea."

"I'll get the supplies for you, and bring them to the infirmary." He hesitated a brief moment before sighing. "It might be a good idea for my own sake to ask you something, but I am also aware you can, rightfully, tell me exactly where to take my curiosity."

"You've been a good man, and friend, to both Nyna and myself, Duke Hardin." I debated crossing my arms or leaning against the wall, but my limbs twinged in pain, reminding me that it would be a very, _very_ bad idea. "I will at least tell you politely where to shove it."

"I'm glad." He smiled briefly before it faded. "Does Princess Nyna… is she infatuated with Prince Marth?"

Of all the things I expected, that had not been among it. I closed my eyes briefly as I put together the pieces from there. Despite Nyna's efforts to keep her distance, it seemed Duke Hardin… had developed at least an infatuation with Nyna. I wished I had noticed sooner, so that I could've nipped it before it took any real hold, but I'd been focused so much on taking care of Nyna that I honestly hadn't paid attention. I could only hope, now, that there would be no long-term consequences to this…

"No, she is not," I whispered slowly. I opened my eyes and looked right at him. "She is in love with someone else, someone we met in Archanea, and had to leave behind." The words were hard to say, especially as his expression fell slightly. I hated this. But someone had to. It would be far more unfair to him to keep it quiet. "I'm sorry."

"No, no." Duke Hardin shook his head. "I'm glad you were so honest." He still looked hurt, but he masked it well with a smile. The smile told me he really was grateful to me. "I'll go get those things for you. You get to the infirmary. I wish for you to not limp everywhere again, and I know I'm not the only one who hopes for it."

"Thank you." I hesitated a moment, not quite liking ending things here, especially since I was certain we'd likely rarely, if ever, speak of this again. But if this is what he chose, then I should respect it, especially since I _did_ need to get those things for Nyna. So, I smiled and limped off to the infirmary, trying to focus on the things I could change now. But I found it hard. I just… had a very, _very_ bad feeling, enough to make me feel nauseous.

Something bad was going to come from all of this, because I didn't pay enough attention to Duke Hardin. I was certain of it.

* * *

 _Records on Caeda:_

 _15 year old Pegasus Knight, the Princess of Talys_

 _Kind and gentle, with an uncanny ability to win allies through her determination and her smile_

 _Skilled with a lance, but even more skilled with words, her willingness to look past a person's past earns her the unshakeable loyalty of all of her citizens, who used to resort to unsavory things in order to survive before her father united the Clans._

 _Incredibly close to Marth, having a crush on him. She supports him quietly, always making sure he knows he isn't alone._

 _Records on Ogma:_

 _22 year old Mercenary, bodyguard of Princess Caeda_

 _A former gladiator turned mercenary, he's known as one of the most skilled mercenaries in all the lands, with only the Scarlet Swordsman as his rival._

 _His trust is not easily earned, and it's even harder to earn his loyalty. According to many, Princess Caeda is the only person in the world to earn both, but some will note that he shows that same loyalty to Prince Marth, if only for her sake._

 _A jack of all trades with a specialization in swords, he is rarely ever in a situation that he cannot fight himself out of_

 _Records on Barst:_

 _22 year old Fighter_

 _Ogma's second in command, calm and skilled. He has a very, very colorful past._

 _Actually dislikes fighting, but his loyalty is absolute, meaning he'll throw himself into battle alongside those who have earned it_

 _Records on Bord:_

 _21 year old Fighter_

 _Rival of Cord_

 _Quite the worrier, though he hides it with insults_

 _Records on Cord:_

 _21 year old Fighter_

 _Rival of Bord_

 _Dislikes people meddling in his life, but acknowledges when people do so to protect him_

* * *

Author's notes: In game, this is the chapter where Nyna is actually introduced to the player. The Fire Emblem in game also acts as an infinite chest key, but we're not bringing that in. Ricard is your second thief, and generally inferior to Julian in every way gameplay wise. We're also reaching a point where characters are nothing more than faces and names, thanks to how low on characterization the early Fire Emblem games are. While I'll provide little tidbits on them all, don't be surprised if the bios become very sparse for certain chars, particularly ones that the POV girls don't interact with.

Hardin being jealous of Marth receiving the Fire Emblem is a tidbit revealed in FE3/FE12. Given that Marth never knew until that point, and considering Hardin a friend, I'm certain that it was a brief feeling that passed, and did not marr their friendship. We also have here a… change from the actual game canon, namely that Hardin is told that Nyna is in love with someone. This is related, slightly, to what I warned in the beginning where I would be shifting canon around. (I promise; I have it planned out.)

A couple of people have asked about what I imagine Kris and Diana's 'growth rates' as, so… here (these are based on the Avatar's growths for FE12, modified to fit the two):

Kris: HP - 65%, Str - 30%, Mag - 60%, Skl - 50%, Spd - 45%, Lck - 60%, Def - 10%, Res - 20%

Diana: HP - 70%, Str - 40%, Mag - 5%, Skl - 55%, Spd - 50%, Lck - 70%, Def - 15%, Res - 35%

Next Chapter - In War's Grip (Gaiden Chapter)


	14. Chapter 5x) In War's Grip

Chapter 5x) In War's Grip

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _Auelis Castle is ours. We've actually made it, and more importantly, we actually managed to free it. Macedon flees with its tail between its legs, and now, we rest. We recuperate. We sit here and go 'holy shit, we actually pulled this off'._

 _It's a really weird feeling. It's a really, really weird feeling._

* * *

"It looks stupid," I commented, poking the Fire Emblem. It was a simple gold thing with five holes like it was supposed to have gems in it. "It's like two gold in worth."

"I don't think you're supposed to appraise it," Marth pointed out with a little laugh. We were in his room, and he was looking through some paperwork while I poked the great treasure of Archanea in the corner. "It's a treasure."

"Treasures are supposed to be worth a lot, though." I pouted, studying the shield more. It had some weird bird on it, so that the five slots were positioned at its wings, talons, heart, and beak. "What's the story behind it?"

"Jagan told us."

"You think I remember stupid shit like treasures that aren't worth anything?"

"Point." He laughed when I twisted to glower at him. "Though, there isn't much. It's more of a showing of Archanea's trust in the wielder." He paused. "Though, it was last given during the previous war with Medeus. Specifically, Artemis gave it to Cartas."

"Didn't she end up marrying him, despite loving Anri?"

"Yes. The nobility would not allow Artemis and Anri to wed, since Anri was a commoner."

"He saved the world, and they wouldn't let him marry the woman he saved the world for, because he wasn't of a lofty lineage?" I scoffed. "Nobles are stupid."

"It does seem… petty." Marth sighed. "I wonder if Princess Nyna will face similar…"

"I'll punch them in the face is they try to force you. Hell, I'll punch them even if they try to force her. She's gone through hell. She should get to marry whoever she wants, damn the nobles who left her to rot."

"That's… venomous." He set his pen down. "Is there a personal reason or…?"

"Mmm…" I went back to poking the Fire Emblem. "I had a friend, once. She wasn't really a friend-friend or anything, but she kept an eye out for me. She worked as a flower seller, and always had a meal ready for me and a few other street kids. A nobleman took a liking to her, and he was a nice one. They chatted a lot, laughing. I remember thinking of how they suited each other, and wasn't really surprised they'd fallen in love."

"But his family didn't approve?"

"Nope. When he declared that he'd willingly be disowned, they shipped him off to some covenant or something as an 'insane' person, and beat her for being a 'witch'." I froze as I remembered. I'd followed them that day, absently curious as to how it would end up. I remembered his screaming as they dragged him away, remembered her shrieks as they kicked her. "She died from the beatings. They killed her for 'daring' to marry above her station, and they called him insane for wanting to marry below." I made myself poke the Fire Emblem again to focus on the present. "I robbed them blind over the next year. Every day, I stole a little more until they had nothing." I still wasn't quite sure _why_ I had done it. It wasn't like it would have fixed what had happened. It didn't make me feel any better. I just… did.

"How old were you?"

"Twelve. So, it was about three years prior to Altea's fall." I shook my head. "But that's it, really. I'll punch them all in the face."

"I see." Marth laughed, and it sounded mostly happy. "Well, I hope that things will not come to face-punching."

"Well, if it does, I'm your girl." I twisted again and saw him looking thoughtfully. "What else is bothering you?"

"It's nothing too bad. It's just…" He trailed off a bit, clearly thinking too hard. "When Princess Nyna was giving me the Fire Emblem, it seemed like she was going to hand it to me herself, but then Diana did it instead." He frowned a bit. "I can't help but wonder… if there is something I'm missing."

"It's pretty damn clear that there's only one person in this whole group Nyna trusts completely and without hesitation, and that's Diana." I stood then and turned to properly face him. "I've seen them interact. She's much warmer around her. She's friendly enough, but when you see that, you know she's keeping her distance."

"So, Diana is to her as you are to me." Marth smiled sweetly. "A wondrous friend, and confidant."

"Guess so." I felt a little out of sorts, though. Merric and his magical prowess… I had to train. I had to do _something_ to not be left behind. "The point I was going with is that there probably _is_ something that you're missing. It's probably something only Diana knows."

"And, because she knows, she gave it to me instead." Marth frowned a little. "She's so melancholy… it makes sense, but I hope that I can befriend her and take up some of her burden…"

"...I hate to remind you, but you have your own burdens." I walked over and rested a hand on his shoulder. He sighed, and leaned back in his chair. "It might be better to leave befriending to Caeda. She's good at it."

"That's a good point. Still, I hope to become friends with her, in time." Marth tilted his head back and smiled. "Duke Hardin is amazing, though! I can't believe he managed to hold them off for so long. I have quite a bit to learn."

"I could've told you that, pretty boy." I laughed as he made a face. "I can drop that nickname if you don't like it."

"By this point, it feels strange to not hear that, or 'silly prince'." He smiled. "I like them. I like that you'll tease me. No one else seems to."

"Oh, they will. We're all just a little tired, but sarcasm is my first language, so I default to it." I grinned. "But speaking of teasing, and Caeda…" Rapid footsteps caught my attention and I turned towards the open door. "Oh, great, now what?"

The answer came quickly. "P-please help!" A child suddenly stumbled into the room, followed by a very harried Abel. "Prince Marth, our village…!" the child began, racing right for Marth and grabbing his shirt. "Pirates came and abducted most of my friends! Please, help!"

Here we go again.

* * *

After some debate, Hardin and Marth decided to lead a small group to route the pirates while Nyna stayed with the bulk of the army. I was chosen, and I was quite smug that Merric was not. The smugness died when I noticed Wolf came along. I really didn't like that snob.

"Why did the pirates strike?" I complained, riding with Cain. Caeda had opted to stay back with Nyna, just in case they'd need a fast escape. "What's the point? There's nothing here. Why are they such jerks?"

"Well, maybe they think they can ransom the children," Cain suggested lightly. His eyes narrowed and a growl entered his voice. "But we won't let them."

"If you charge headfirst into them while I'm riding with you, I will kill you."

"Oh, no, don't worry. That's why Jagan put you with me anyway."

"He what." I didn't much like being used as a shield! "Ugh… lame."

"I apparently charge too much, and Abel stayed back to protect the castle." His expression became grim. "I'm going to stop and have you dismount."

"Why?" I yelped as an arrow suddenly flew past my face. It would've hit me if Cain hadn't pulled me into his chest. "Okaynevermindgetmedownnowplease."

Cain got me down as two more arrows splintered off his armor. Then he charged off, leaving me behind, and it took a couple of blinks to realize what all had happened. We'd been ambushed by the pirates. Clearly, this was a trap. I wondered why for a brief moment, and then facepalmed when I remembered the pirates at Talys _and_ the pirates at Galder had been on Dolhr's employ. It was pretty easy to connect the dots from there.

"If this ends up being a distraction, and the castle is attacked while we're gone, I will scream," I muttered before shaking my head and pulling out my thunder tome. My hands shook slightly and I thought briefly of the wyvern riders I'd shot down a few days ago and of the one I'd pulled out of the fight and given to the infirmary. I didn't know about them. I was too afraid to go to the infirmary to ask, even though it had been a few days.

An arrow clipped my cheek, though, and dragged me out of my fear and nerves. I refused to freeze on the field again, for the sake of everyone. So, I had to just… deal with all of this.

I casted spells at various enemies, noticing that I was running low on pages as I made my way through the field to find Marth. It wasn't particularly difficult, especially when compared to what we fought before. I even heard Ogma and Navarre casually start a 'kill count competition' thing as I passed them by. When I found Marth, though, I had to pause as I saw him talking with a very… strange looking woman. She glowered at him and he flailed, before she went off and started fighting the pirates.

"Soooo…" I began slowly, walking over to him. When I got there, I casually leaned my arm against his shoulder, staring after the woman. "What sort of nutcase did we pick up this time?"

"I… I think she's just foreign, Kris," he squeaked. He pointed to where she was rather easily going through the pirates. "I think she can handle herself, though."

"Mostly." I shot off a thunder spell to catch a pirate going for her back. "She doesn't exactly watch her back."

"We'll watch it for her then." He tossed his sword up in the air and caught it with a flourish. "Onward."

"Quite so, Prince Dramatic." I grinned as he rolled his eyes. "Let's go!"

* * *

The battle went off without a hitch, and thankfully, the children were all safe. I would've thought the pirates would have killed the children, but it appeared that despite all their crimes, actually killing kids was a line they didn't cross, or they were too stupid and brash to go back and kill them, instead suiciding on us. Either way, the kids were safe. It all felt a little surreal.

"Here, miss!" A little kid ran up and handed me a bouquet of wildflowers. "Thank you~!" they cheered, smiling brightly before racing off to give flowers to the others. I stared after them, still not quite feeling like this was real. It felt a little too easy, like this was a distraction, but there seemed to be nothing unusual.

"Those are called Rose Angels." Hardin walked over to me, smiling slightly. He wasn't wearing his turban, as he had given it to some of the kids who were happily pretending to be… well, us. They were reenacting the battle, with much more dramatics. I was touched, and a little unnerved, that one little girl pretended to be _me_. "Dame Kris?"

"Sorry, what?" I asked, looked up to him. I blinked slowly, remembering he was by me. "What's a rosy angel?"

"Those flowers are called Rose Angels," he explained, perfectly patient. He pointed to them for emphasis. "They're quite a popular flower around here. They grow well during the spring and summer months."

"Oh." I looked down at them, and smiled slightly. I'd never thought pink suited me, but these were cute. "It's nice of her to give them to me."

"They are flowers given here often to show great appreciation." Hardin laughed a little. "Traditionally, though, they'd be woven into a crown for you."

"Crowns don't suit people like me." I brought the bouquet up to my face and smelled the flowers. "Sweet." My smile grew a bit more. "It doesn't suit me either."

"Flowers suit all people."

"Even Medeus and Gharnef?"

"Maybe wilted flowers for them." He smiled as I laughed. "There. Prince Marth was worried because of how dazed you were."

"I just…" I hesitated before sighing. "I feel like this was too easy."

"You're not the only one." He crossed his arms, and his expression turned serious. "I sent Wolf off to the Castle as soon as the battle ended. I got a messenger bird back that told me everything was fine."

"Then why the trap?"

"They could've been overconfident, or they could've been used to cover the Macedonian retreat." He patted my shoulder and smiled again. "For now, though, don't worry so much. You did well. There will be plenty to worry about in the coming days."

He walked off then, apparently having taken time from talking to the leaders of the village to reassure me. I smiled slightly, wondering if that was what having a dad, or a even an older brother. Then I shook my head, laughing a little. I had no idea. I didn't know my parents. I only knew Grandfather, who found me as a toddler. My first memory was sitting in the rain, staring at a ruined, burnt building, and Grandfather offering me his hand.

I tucked the flowers into my pack, wondering if there was a way I could preserve them, and wandered, looking for Marth. I saw Cain playing with some children, letting them ride on their shoulders, and laughed as a couple more jumped up on him, and he started spinning around. I moved past them, glancing around, and soon found Marth on the edge of town, looking rather frantic as he spoke once again to the strange woman.

"Marth, ve are Athena," the woman explained. She had a rather unnerving stare. "Ve have decided to join you."

"Y-you have?" Marth yelped. He looked so adorably confused. "Really?"

"It is the least ve can do. Vhat sort of selfish creature do you take us for?" She glowered. "Ve will help, and you will be grateful. Yes?"

"Y-yes, perfectly clear." Marth smiled nervously. "Your swordsmanship will turn the tides for many battles to come?" He pointed to the right. "Talk to Ogma and Navarre. You'll probably be paired with them a lot?"

"Ve shall." She walked off then, steps determined and quick.

Marth breathed a noticeable sigh of relief as she left, and waved awkwardly when he saw me. "Hi?" he squeaked. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was looking for you, again," I answered. I walked to his side, and watched as Navarre and Ogma both looked a little bewildered, dealing with Athena. "Well, that's another one for the crazy boat. We have quite the collection coming along."

"We're not a crazy boat."

"We're a group of humans rallying a fallen continent to fight an army led by a dragon and a sorcerer." I gave him a look and he squirmed. "I think there's a definition of crazy and that is it."

"...Maybe." He sounded so sullen that I laughed again. "But we saved some kids, and freed Aurelis." He smiled and looked out to the horizon, the wind whipping his cape about. "Maybe we're not so crazy."

"Maybe." I grinned. "But, come on, you're more worried about looking cool for Caeda, right?"

"Do you have to ruin _every_ heroic moment?" He groaned as I simply laughed. "Let's head back to Duke Hardin. He promised to teach me some of the plants of the Lea, and you're going to learn with me."

No amount of groaning got me out of it, the meanie. But Duke Hardin got quite a few laughs out of our bickering, at least.

* * *

 _Notes on Wrys:_

 _A 40 year old curate from Talys. A kind and gentle man, and very humble._

 _Runs the orphanage for Talys's main island._

 _Offers to shave people's heads with alarming frequency_

 _Notes on Darros:_

 _A 30 year old former pirate. Joined us at Galder, and has quite a bit of knowledge of the tides and fishing._

 _Seems like a simple man, fairly skilled with an axe. Uncomfortable with himself, though._

 _Can be obsessive when it comes to completing tasks. Spots he's assigned to clean literally sparkle._

 _Notes on Castor:_

 _An 18 year old hunter, wielding a bow. Has a very large family, with seven or eight siblings._

 _Fell in with the Galder pirates in order to pay for medicine for his mother._

 _Faint hearted, but rather perceptive and opportunistic. It can't be coincidence that in the chaos of our first battle at Galder that Castor found the one person in the army who would be willing to listen to his plight in the middle of a battle._

* * *

Author's notes: So, this is the first of the infamous Gaiden chapters of Shadow Dragon, where you had to kill off units in order to access them. Athena is often considered the only one worth using, outside of Norne. Also, have a little more backstory for Kris.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Aurelis


	15. Interlude - Aurelis

Interlude - Aurelis

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _The pirate interlude aside, the immediate days after retaking Aurelis Castle are rather calm and peaceful. It's almost eerie, considering how much fighting there had been over the past six months. I catch Sedgar twitching at every noise, even as he makes the best food we'd had in… gods, it feels like years. It's simple stuff, but it's better than the rations._

 _It's weird. It's so weird. Even back at Archanea Castle, things never felt this… peaceful. I don't know what to do when there's nothing to fight. Not anymore._

* * *

I hissed as I cleaned my wounds, grimacing at the burning pain. The free time had given the healers, mainly Nyna and Sister Lena, time to give me more extensive healing, but I still had many angry red lines scabbed over that needed to be cleaned regularly. At the least, though, I could go around with less bandages, meaning that we didn't have to use up entire rolls just for me. It made me feel a little better about things, and the lessened pain let me be a bit more useful. I still couldn't train regularly, or do any sort of heavy lifting, but I could carry messages and carry supplies for the healers in the infirmary. It was enough to soothe my aching pride.

"Are you alright?" Nyna asked as she looked over my shoulder. She had insisted on coming into my room and at least supervising my cleaning the injuries, just in case. "That sounded painful."

"Yes, I'm fine." I smiled at her as I carefully wiped down the wounds with a clean rag. "That bit of burning just meant some infection had seeped in, and it was getting it out."

"Oh, how did it get infected? We've been careful!"

"It's one of the worst wounds, pretty deep. That increases the chances, even when you're being careful." The one that hurt the most had been the one in my chest, where I'd ripped out the arrow. But some others had burned, and if I remembered correctly, they were also arrow wounds. Those were always prone to infection. "Still, if you can help me bandage up?"

"Of course." Nyna picked up the bandages and began helping me. "Still so many…"

"Well, I nearly died, and I reopened them twice." It was a testament to the healing staves that I wasn't crippled. "I'm healing, though. That's better than many."

"Yeah…" She leaned briefly into me before resuming bandaging me up. "We lost a few people earlier. There was a fight in the infirmary."

"I heard. Sedgar calmed it, right?"

"Yes, but not before some people reopened their injuries and bled out." Nyna sighed. "We should've moved the Macedonians to another room before this. It was silly and stupid to expect our own to just lie there and be treated side-by-side with their former enemies."

"Most would think that treating former enemies at all is unusual."

"I agree with Prince Marth, though. We must defeat Medeus and rebuild the continent. How can we do that, if we do not treat those we defeat with decency?" Nyna tied off one bandage and worked on bandaging another set of injuries. "It's not the Macedonians' fault that King Michalis sided with Medeus. You could even argue it wasn't his fault; his nation was going to be overrun and Archanea did nothing."

"I wouldn't be making _too_ many excuses for Micky, Nyna." There were harsh rumors about him even before the war, though the people of Macedonia loved him dearly. "He may have good intentions, but if he goes about it the wrong way, it's still wrong."

"...I feel like if I condemn him, I condemn Camus, though…"

"He and Camus are two different people, who fight for the enemy for two separate reasons." I kept my voice firm. "Besides, even if they were similar, it's okay to be hypocritical so long as you're aware of it."

"If you say so." She might've said more, but a knock on the door interrupted her. "Hold on just a moment!" She quickly finished up with the bandages and I pulled back on my clothes.

Only then did I call, "come in!"

The door open to reveal Duke Hardin, who looked distinctly amused by something. "I'm sorry to bother you two," he began. His voice wobbled slightly, like he was just barely holding back laughter. "But we have an impromptu crowd outside."

"So, I need to fix up Nyna's appearance," I murmured, catching on instantly. Nyna gave me a look that screamed 'wwhhhyyyyy?' before adopting her calm mask. "Prince Marth as well… you. Yes, you." I glowered as he opened his mouth to protest. "Like hell you're going out like that. And… you know what? Let's bring Princess Caeda into this so that Nyna's not the only girl. It won't hurt for them to associate two pretty girls with the army." I laughed a bit, feeling almost invigorated. _This_ was something I could easily do, even while wounded. "Okay, follow me you two. We'll make you look presentable if it's the last thing I do."

* * *

"That was the longest thing ever." Nyna groaned and sprawled out on her bed, moving only so that I could more easily undo the braids I'd put in her hair. "I can't believe I used to do that daily," she whined, giving me a weary look. "I have to get back my stamina."

"Yes, you do," I agreed, grinning as she whimpered. "Come now, Princess. Think of ways to make it fun."

"I'm dragging you into it next time." She sighed and sat up so that I could brush out her hair. "Marth looked rather confused by all of it. It was adorable. Caeda blushed."

"Few things are more obvious than the fact that Caeda and Marth are crushing on each other." I'd been around them for maybe half a mark and figured that out. "Maybe you and Caeda can girl-talk."

"Maybe…" Her expression saddened, and I knew she was thinking of Camus. "Loving someone is such a wonderful, yet sorrowful, thing."

"Yes, it is. Whether that love is romantic, familial, or platonic." I rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled slightly. "But even with the pain, it's rather worth it, isn't it?"

"Yes, I think so." She smiled back, a small smile but one nonetheless. "Thank you. I'd be far sadder if you weren't here."

"Well, that's part of the job of being a bodyguard. Protecting you from everything, even sadness." I grinned and she managed a weak laugh. "Mmm, not good enough!" I set the brush down and started tickling her, like how Charles would tickle me to startle more laughter.

It worked instantly, and she yelped even as she did laugh and batted my hands away. "Tickling isn't fair!" She pouted as I snickered. "I should tickle you b-!" A knock on the door cut her off and, within heartbeats, she had her calm mask back on and I was back to brushing her hair. "Come in."

"Sorry to bother!" Princess Caeda stepped inside the room and, surprisingly, was dressed in a very simple dress of very unflattering browns. "Wait, why are you frowning?" she asked, looking at me. Her hair was braided up into a little bun. "Is it because I got the makeup off?"

"Knowing Diana, either you removed it incorrectly or she's annoyed at your clothing," Nyna instantly reassured. She smiled politely, laughing a little. "She's quite picky."

"Properly removing makeup is important to make sure the skin doesn't get irritated, or clogged," I explained with great dignity, even as I continued to brush Nyna's hair. "Things are going to be stressful enough, and pimples are just plain annoying to deal with." I pointed to the dress. "And that looks hideous. Brown is not your color, or at least, that shade isn't."

"W-well, I'm planning on sneaking into the market!" Princess Caeda protested. She pouted a little. "I don't want to stand out."

"You'll definitely stand out like _that_. Even commoners try to wear colors that suit them, your highness." I smiled as she squirmed. "Now, what was that about the market?"

"Oh, right." She perked right back up. "I'm heading to the market. And I was wondering, Nyna, if you'd like to sneak in with me." She smiled brightly. "Ogma will be with me, of course, so Diana can even take a nap or something!"

"I…" I hesitated, but noticed that Nyna looked really intrigued by the idea. "Will you not go far?"

"We'll just head into the market. I promise."

"Well…" I looked at Nyna, and when she nodded, I sighed. "Oh, very well. But do not go far." I smiled wryly. "I promise that I know Ogma is very skilled; I am just paranoid."

"You're a bodyguard. It's your job." She smiled sweetly. "But you need a break too~"

"And promise to change your dress. Please." I quickly braided Nyna's hair, and nudged her up. Her eyes were already sparkling. "Get her a dress too. Softer colors. _Not_ white, though." White was incredibly hard to keep pristine. Off-white or cream would be more 'common'. "And have fun."

"We will!" Princess Caeda seized Nyna by the hand and dragged her out of the room, happily chatting about… anything and everything.

I watched them leave and, for a brief moment, debated going to follow. But I pushed down that response, simply because… I thought it would do Nyna good, to spend some time with someone else. While I would always be there for her, it would be much healthier for her, and for me, for her to have more friends she could relax around. Princess Caeda certainly seemed eager to befriend Nyna, and seemed like a kind girl.

Still, I spend quite a few moments just pacing, fretting and tugging at my hair, before flopping down on Nyna's bed, deciding that I should just try to nap, especially since I was low on energy. Healing took a lot out of a person, and I was exhausted. The problem was, now that I was actively _trying_ to sleep in such a splendid bed, I couldn't help but think of my childhood. Of my family. My bed back there had been this soft, with as many pillows and blankets. My room had actually been of soft colors, just like this.

We'd been a prominent noble family. I remembered that, though I didn't really remember the 'rank' or anything. Rich, titled, landed. All the 'important' things in a court. But there was a hard year that hurt our finances or something. I hadn't known or understood any of that. I'd been only twelve, focused far more on dresses and perfumes. My parents had been distant, focused on parties and social standing, but my siblings had been sweet. I'd loved them.

But my parents had spent outside their means, throwing elaborate parties and buying luxuries no one needed, and racked up a huge debt. Their solution was, instead of selling the things they didn't need, instead of cutting back on spending, was to sell _me_. A wealthy duke, relatively young, had expressed interest in me and wanted to marry me; my parents had jumped on the offer, and had arranged it so that he got me in exchange for paying off their debts.

I hadn't been told. I'd been dressed up, told that it was a 'party' just for me, and basically been marched right up to the altar, and married against my will or even knowledge. Perfectly legal in Grust, at least at the time. I'd been so confused, and so hurt, wondering why this strange man insisted I was 'his' now. I couldn't understand why my parents sacrificed me so that they could support their lifestyle. My eldest siblings, though… they'd saved me. They'd helped me escape during the reception, and I'd run. And now, through a series of strange events, I was in a room that looked so similar that I almost thought they _were_ the same.

Groaning, I turned over onto my side, and tried to focus slowly on falling asleep. But when I finally did nod off, I was plagued by nightmares of that time, and of the fall of Archanea. It wasn't a very restful nap at all. This was why I didn't take breaks. I thought too much.

* * *

I finished my 'nap', cleaned Nyna's room, did some careful stretches, and then a number of other fussy things until Nyna returned. Some part of me thought about taking my own damn advice and talking to people, but there wasn't really… anyone I wanted to talk with. I could've talk with Duke Hardin, Wolf, Sedgar, or any of the Aurelis people. I could've talk with Sister Lena, or maybe Kris. I could've just introduced myself to people. But I didn't… want to. They were people I could work with, and talk with, but no one I would go out of my way to spend time with. It wasn't like with the Wolf Pack, where I'd seek people out. I just… we were all comrades. That was all.

So, I was a bit broody when Nyna finally returned, with a bright smile and brighter eyes. However, Nyna quickly whispered to me that she wanted to actually head back, and for one reason: she thought she'd heard a rumor about Camus. It was obvious why she hadn't wanted to keep Princess Caeda out just for that, so I changed into something a little less conspicuous, and the two of us headed out to the market. The story was that Nyna wanted to sneakily buy Princess Caeda a present, and that certainly made the people we actually had to tell smile.

"Sister, keep close to me," I urged, holding onto Nyna's hand. We were pretending to be sisters from a distant village, and when we actually conversed and shopped, Nyna pretended to be mute, traumatized by the horrors of war. That was mostly to hide her accent; I could fake an Aurelisi one fairly well thanks to spending time with Wolf and Sedgar. It was a useful trick for a mercenary. "I don't want you getting lost."

"I feel like a little girl playing pretend," Nyna whispered very, _very_ softly, as she stepped closer to my side and smiled. Her eyes were sparkling. "I thought that earlier, when I was out with Caeda."

"Well, we are being a _little_ silly." I reached up to check the hood of my cloak was up, and doubled checked that hers was as well. _Hers_ was pinned, in fact, but I was a bit paranoid it would fall anyway. "Stay close, though. It's going to be crowded."

We passed out of the 'shopping' part of the market, and entered the unofficial 'rest' section of the area, where people would mingle and chatter while resting their feet or while snacking. The smell of food wafted over everything and my stomach grumbled slightly, but I kept focused on the task at hand. Nyna subtly navigated to where she thought she'd overheard Camus's name, using nods, nudges, and points to get us near a woman eating fried apple skins gossiped with another, older woman who was fixing a hole in her shoe.

We lingered near, and I waited, straining my ears. I squeezed Nyna's hand when I caught Camus's name in their conversation and, when the older woman left, I crept closer, letting go of Nyna's hand to wave and catch the apple-woman's attention.

"My pardon, but I couldn't help but overhear," I began cheerfully. I leaned forward slightly, smiling my best smile at the woman. She instantly smiled back, clearly a friendly sort. "I thought I heard something about sable? I do love that color."

"While it is a lovely color, that's _Camus_ the Sable, my dear, not the color," she corrected. She passed a piece of a fried apple skin to Nyna and me, waving her hand as I started to protest. "Oh, think nothing of it. We're celebrating today!"

"That we are." I popped the piece in my mouth, smiling at the cinnamon. They really _were_ going all out today. "So, what about Camus the Sable?" I glanced at Nyna, and she lingered nearby, nibbling on the apple skin. This would be all on me. "I heard he got in _big_ trouble with Medeus."

"Yes, but apparently not so much that Medeus isn't willing to discard him." The woman's eyes glinted in disgust. "Word on the wind is that he's been released, though he's being kept on a tighter leash. There's nothing on what caused the trouble or anything."

"Knowing our enemy, I'm willing to bet he didn't kill someone he was supposed to." I felt the need to put that out. Another little… rumor, I supposed. One that pointed out that Camus was a good man, even if he did have something of a guilt complex. "You know? Logically, I mean."

"That's a good point." The woman's eyes softened slightly. Just slightly. But it was enough to make me smile. "Oh, that's not the only rumor dealing with our enemies."

"Really?" I made my eyes as wide and innocent as possible. "What is it?"

"Well, this one is a little more whispery, dear, but there's rumors that Gharnef actually has hostages to keep people in line." The woman leaned in to whisper in my ear. "They say that Gharnef has a 'personal' hostage, though, trapped in his strange castle far away from everything. A cleric princess."

"A cleric princess?" This was news to me. "Do any fit that description?"

"Well, there's the littlest princess of Macedon, but since Macedon fell in line with Medeus quickly, I doubt it's her." Her eyes shone now. "But there is supposed to be one other. The Princess of Altea."

"Wow, really?" I gasped appropriately, even as my mind spun. Princess Elice… there had been _no_ rumors about her until now. I doubted this was a coincidence. Garf wanted to shake Prince Marth's resolve, or make him reckless. Or both. "Why?"

"No one knows, but it can't be good." The woman and I traded a few more pleasantries and gossips after that, pointless things that I didn't pay attention to. After that, I left, snagging Nyna's hand as we returned to the market proper.

"Well, Camus is freed, and we might have word on Marth's sister," I murmured. She nodded, leaning into my side. Her eyes were worried, but her smile was happy and sweet. News of Camus cheered her considerably. "We need to at least tell Marth of the latter."

"I'll do that," Nyna volunteered quietly. Her smile turned wry. "You might want to tell Duke Hardin about Camus. He… is on the opposing side, after all."

"I'll handle that." I smiled, though, and nudged her side, hoping to cheer her back up. "For now, though, let's find that present for Princess Caeda. Point the way. You're supposed to be mute."

We ended up buying presents not only for Princess Caeda, but for Prince Marth and Duke Hardin as well. Plus some things for the soldiers. It ended up being quite the fun little day.

* * *

Author's notes: Have some Diana backstory, and some mentions of Nyna-Caeda friendship bonding things. Also mentions of Camus and Elice, Marth's sister.

Next Chapter - Lefcandith Gauntlet


	16. Chapter 6) Lefcandith Gauntlet

Chapter 6) Lefcandith Gauntlet

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _Aurelis is free, but as everyone likes reminding us, there's way more to be done. Thus, the Archaean League, as some stupid bard decided to call us and had the gall to be popular and set it to a catchy tune, marches off from Aurelis, heading for Archanea. Of course, thanks to everything, there's only one path at this point, the Lefcandith Valley. I asked Jagan why it was the only way to go, and Jagan mentioned how the path was treacherous even before Medeus showed up. Considering this is how Nyna and Diana made it to Aurelis, though, I have to wonder how they managed. The two are incredibly tight-lipped about it, and no amount of prodding gets a reaction._

 _So now, we're stuck with countless fortresses, and even more soldiers, all led by Princess Minerva of Macedon. We're screwed, basically. We just have to work on unscrewing ourselves. Lame._

* * *

"Why are we going out again?" I whined as I walked down the path with Abel. The trees swayed in the breeze, and I noticed how the more we got into the mountains, the more trees we encountered. "This is just so that Marth and Caeda can go on a date."

"It's not _just_ for that," Abel chided. Probably because I had to walk, he had dismounted and led his horse by the rein next to him. The horse seemed to not mind it, much. "We have to rest." He paused, tilting his head curiously. "Wait, they're going on a date?"

"They say they're just shopping, but it's totally a date. Marth is going to give her his present during it." Admittedly, that was on my suggestion before leaving to scout, but it was still happening. "So, if we hear a loud squeal, it's her. He bought her some beautiful diamond earrings."

" _Diamond_?" Abel's eyes danced. "In Altea, that's a _very_ romantic thing to buy someone."

"I know; I helped him buy it." I grinned. "There was this vendor who didn't realize he had actual diamonds, and thought them quartz or something and priced accordingly. I helped him haggle."

"You can tell the difference?"

"I'm a _thief_. If there's anything I know well, it's how to identify shinies, and how to get the best damn bargain I can get."

"And not get caught."

"Well, that's a given. Altea prisons aren't very fun. There was lots of guard brutality, especially if you're a girl." I gave him a look as he squirmed. "You didn't know?"

"I… heard rumors, but I never looked into it directly. It always seemed like something others in actual authority should look into." He sighed, drooping slightly. "But they never did, did they?"

"A lot of the ones in authority benefited from it, so of course no one did." I thought a bit about Grandfather. He… had been one of those who had tried to look into it, but his illness took him too soon. "The ones that did gave up, died, or… other stuff. Altea shone rather nicely, but only when you ignored the muck it stood on."

"I'm sorry." Abel fell silent for a long moment. "Did you always live on the street?"

"...No, I had a grandfather." I looked to the ground as we continued walking, missing him terribly. "He wasn't mine by blood. He found me on the street and took me in." I thought back to then, to that first memory. Well, it wasn't the 'very' first, if I had to be honest. There was a vague memory of… my mom, or at least, I thought she was my mom. She had blue hair like me, and blue eyes. I remembered her kind smile more, though, and the gentle lilt of a lullaby. That memory of her was hazy and dreamy, like I didn't even really see her, but like had 'made her up'. But the next memory of her was of her broken corpse, curled up and frozen in the mud and blood. Her hands, in that memory, were stuck in a holding position because I'd only wriggled out of her arms after her body started to stiffen. Then I'd sat there in the rain, wondering why people had attacked us, had attacked her, staring at a ruined, burnt building that might've been my house.

Then, the rain had stopped falling on me, and I'd looked up to see a man wearing simple yet nice clothes holding a coat over me like an umbrella. He'd smiled kindly and held out his free hand. I'd taken it instinctually, and that… that was how Grandfather adopted me. He'd even gone back and buried my mom, after he'd gotten me out of the rain and into some clean clothes and a warm bed. I never asked how he'd found me. He'd promised to tell me a bit more when I was older. He'd tried to tell me as he was dying of sickness, but I'd refused to hear it. I hadn't wanted to admit he was dying. Then, on his deathbed, he was really too weak to tell me anything. I'd told him that I loved him, and he'd told me that I was the best thing that had ever happened to him and that he'd loved me too.

Those had been his last words. I wondered if he'd still love me now, after spending some time as a thief. I thought… he would, though. That was just how he'd been. No matter what I'd done, he had been there with a smile and a hug, and an explanation for why what I did was wrong and why I shouldn't do it again.

"Kris, are you listening?" Abel's voice jerked me out of my moping, and I looked up at him curiously, noticing his exasperated look. "There's someone over there," he explained, pointing to where we could see the top of a pink-haired person's head through some brush. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, sure, we can do that," I replied, more wondering why a person would be out here. However, as we approached, and I caught the white and gold armor that none of ours wore _and_ the pegasus, I had a damn good idea. I brought my hand up instantly, ready to blast the girl with magic, but I paused. The girl wasn't even looking at us. She was fussing over her pegasus, movements almost frantic as her pegasus flinched away from her.

It was very, _very_ clear what was going on. She was trying to tend to her pegasus. So, she would be an easy shot, an easy capture, and an easy kill. But, I knew… I knew Marth wouldn't want me to attack, not like this. Knowing that, I brought my hand down. It was naive. This girl would likely only cause trouble. But I couldn't… bring myself to attack, knowing that Marth wouldn't want it.

This was beyond lame.

"Miss, do you need assistance?" Abel called. The girl stiffened and whirled, before looking at us curiously. "This isn't a very safe place to be."

"Oh, I can handle myself in a fight," the girl replied lightly. She smiled pleasantly, but I saw one of her hands drift to where she had a spear hooked onto her saddle. "And I'm fine. I'm just fussing."

"Forgive me, but your pegasus seems to be in pain." Abel brought up his hands to show he was unarmed. His own lance was on the saddle too, and he nodded to it. "Might I help? I hate seeing anyone in pain."

"Well…" She hesitated a bit more, before glancing at me. I, after all, still had my tome. "I…" She continued staring at me and I stared back, doing my best to silently say 'if I wanted you dead, you would be already'. She seemed to understand as she turned back to Abel with a small smile. "Thank you. He won't let me look under his wing."

"He's probably trying to be all strong for you. Horses have their pride, and I see little reason for pegasi to be much different." Abel stepped a little closer and stopped when the pegasus tensed. "Easy, easy. I'm just going to help your owner. She's awfully worried."

I watched the two of them slowly coax the pegasus into lifting its wing so that they could tend to the injury underneath, before turning away and 'watching' the path. If any of our allies caught us, I had little doubts we'd be tried as traitors. If any of _hers_ caught us, it would turn into a fight. But, surprisingly, it was all quiet and peaceful. No one came looking for the girl, and no one tried to ambush us using her as bait.

"Yippee! We did it!" the girl cheered after a moment. I glanced back and saw a fresh bandage right under the pegasus's wing, around the joint. "Thank you so much!" She bowed to us. "That would've been much harder on my own."

"I'm glad I could assist," Abel replied with a soft smile. The girl simply smiled back. "I probably don't need to say this, but take it easy until that wound fully heals."

"I know, but thank you." She straightened, and took the reins of her pegasus. "Hey, what's your names?"

"I'm Abel, and that's Kris." He gestured to me, and I waved slightly, noticing he made no mention of how we were Alteans. She had probably guessed anyway, but like us, ignored it. "You are?"

"My name is Est." She smiled brightly. "It's nice to meet you!" She mounted up and her smile saddened slightly. "I hope we can meet as peacefully next time. You're both super nice."With those oh-so-cheerful words, she flew off, going slowly but surely to ease the burden on her pegasus.

Abel and I watched her leave, and when she was out of sight, I whispered, "I have a feeling she might've been a scout."

"Yeah, maybe," he agreed. He glanced at me, though, with a curious expression on his face. "You get the feeling that maybe she's not scouting for Dolhr?"

"...I don't know." But he was right. I _did_ have that sort of feeling. "But, even if she isn't, she has to be for Macedon, who's…"

"Right, but…" He sighed and shrugged. "Well, I just get the feeling it won't bite us in the ass as much as it probably should."

"Well, let's hope you're right, because if not…" I shrugged, feeling like I didn't need to finish the sentence. "Let's head back and tell the others to move quickly. If scouts are around, soldiers can't be far."

"Sounds good."

* * *

I sighed heavily, glaring at the red gem in my hands as Cain expertly guided the horse down the path. As usual, I was riding with him, and as usual, we kept quiet. Most days, it was because I'd decided to nap or something, but today, I was studying some weird gem a villager had given Marth, back at the market. I'd taken it to try and guess how much it was worth, but it quickly became apparent that I didn't know what this gem was at all. That frustrated me more than a little bit, especially since I'd _just_ bragged to Abel about how that was something I was good at.

"No ideas?" Cain asked softly, smiling slightly. He laughed a little when I glowered. "Do you want to try and throw a spell at it?"

"As tempting as the idea is, no, I'd rather not, simply because there's an even-odd chance this thing might explode," I retorted. Sighing, I tucked it into my pocket, and then leaned against him again. His armor was awkward and cold, even after bunches of time in the sunlight, but it was a pillow I was slowly getting used to. "I guess when we next stop, I'll show it to Wendell. If it's a gem I don't know, I'm going to assume it's magic."

"I thought it a garnet or ruby."

"Those gems don't normally look like there's fire within." That was the main reason why I wondered if this thing might explode if destroyed. "Why did the villager give it to Marth again?"

"The man told Prince Marth that it gave him the creeps, and-"

"This is why we also have a stupid Devil Axe or whatever the hell it is." I groaned, rolling my eyes. "Our silly prince is silly. The axe isn't even worth anything."

"It seems rather strong."

"It's strong because it was made with dark magic that has an even-odd chance of turning on the owner, unless they're quite lucky. Who among us is _lucky_?"

"Well, all of us." He gave me a curious look. "I mean; we're not dead. We survived escaping Altea's fall, and we're fighting a war against a creature of legend. Yet, we're still alive. It's either fate or luck. I prefer luck."

"Really?" Confused, I frowned up at him. "Most people seem to like the former."

"The former implies that the gods intended me to outlive my comrades." His eyes darkened in pain. "That I live only because the gods have some use for me, and had none for my _friends_."

"Cain…" I had no idea what to say. I debated telling him to ride for Abel, and dismounting. I knew shit about comforting people. But Abel was a distance away, and if I'd dismounted, I'd have to find someone to ride with, and it would likely be someone I didn't know well. Caeda, the only other person I ride with, already had a passenger: Lena. I was a little stuck.

"But if it's just luck, then it's… not anyone's fault. I just happened to be a little luckier." His voice cracked and he bowed his head. "So, I prefer luck."

"...But then who do you turn your anger to?" I thought about the days after Grandfather died. I'd been angry at _everything_. Hell, I was _still_ angry about it.

"Our enemies." His eyes hardened. "The people who killed my friends, and who want to kill the rest of them."

"Is that why you charge so...?" The only word I had was 'recklessly', but I only real knew that because I'd caught Jagan scolding Cain a couple of times. By my eyes, _all_ the cavaliers were reckless, since their entire job was to charge ahead. But I didn't like it. I didn't like _him_ being so reckless, especially. "You're alive."

"...Yes?" The pain in his eyes disappeared for confusion. "Yes, I am? That's what prompted this little conversation? Mostly."

"You're alive. You're going to keep living." I glowered at him. "Okay? That's a promise."

"...Sure?" He just looked more confusion. "Where did we get this jump of conversation?"

"I'll let you figure that one out." I huffed, and leaned into him again, not really sure where I was going with this. I'd just wanted that promise. "Marth will cry, if you die. He still cries over Frey."

"So, the promise is for Prince Marth?"

"Well, I suppose me too. Who else would I ride with when Caeda's busy?" I frowned as I heard him chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"You're ridiculous."

"That is _so_ rude." I straightened to glower, but then I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to face it. It took me only a moment to catch the glint of sunlight off of armor, but once I did, I wondered just how I hadn't noticed whoever it was sooner. They wore bright red armor, the same shade of their hair, and they were literally on a bright green wyvern. "...Cain." I pointed, and felt him stiffen almost immediately afterwards. "Who is closest?"

"Duke Hardin." He clicked his tongue and urged his horse into a teeth rattling trot. I clung to him, twisting to keep my eyes on the weird wyvern knight. Whoever they were, they just seemed to be watching us from the air. I didn't even see a weapon.

Cain tapped my shoulder, and I glanced back to see we were even with Hardin, who looked confused. I didn't blame him really; there was a formation to this riding, after all. I didn't really get it, but it apparently had something to do with how easily they could fall into combat formations.

"What is it?" Hardin prompted. His voice was quiet, and a little clipped. I almost took offense, before I remembered that we were literally riding through enemy territory. He'd have to be an idiot to not be tense. "I trust there is an issue?"

"Does a wyvern knight qualify?" I deadpanned, unable to help it. I could understand why he was terse, but hell if I liked it. "There's one there." I pointed again, finding them on the first try. They had barely moved, and I wondered how their wyvern could handle flapping in one place that long. Then again, maybe this wasn't as long as I thought. "See?"

"...Princess Minerva." He sighed heavily, and looked resigned. "Sir Cain, Kris, please assist me in getting everyone prepared for battle. If she's here, then there must be troops waiting."

Cain murmured something, likely an agreement, but I just turned my attention back to this Princess Minerva. It was obvious, now, why she was here. She was surveying our troops, and likely making plans to slaughter us all. However, to me, she seemed… rather sad. She sat there, unmoving, just watching us pass, with a posture that just screamed how _tired_ she was. It was actually a bit difficult to look at her, all alone in the skies, and believe her to be a real threat.

believe her a threat…

I growled to myself and turned away, mentally cursing at my own naivety as I clung to Cain to keep on the stupid horse. I, of all people, knew just how dangerous sad and tired people could become. You had a lot of people on the streets who were like that. Pretty boy's idealism was starting to infect my thoughts.

Damn, that was lame.

* * *

Wyvern riders sucked. They hit hard, and they hit fast. Thankfully, like most soldiers, they were very weak to magic, and weak to arrows through their wings. Aiming, though, proved difficult when you had soldiers all over the place trying to run you down.

"This is madness," I growled, wiping some sweat off my face. My hand came back bloody. "Am I bleeding from my head, or am I just splattered? I'm so numb that I can't tell."

"You might have a few scratches, but I think most of it is from that wyvern we killed," Marth replied. He and I were standing back to back in the middle of this mess, leaning heavily against each other as our legs struggled to bear our weight. Based on the sun, we'd been fighting for a mark or two, but it felt like twenty years. "Why do wyverns bleed so much?"

"Well, they're kinda large, silly." I glanced back, and grimaced at how coated in blood he was. His hair and clothes looked more red than blue. "I told you to not slit its belly."

"I didn't exactly have a variety of choices." He sighed heavily. "...Let's move to the right."

"Is that 'my' right or yours? We're facing different directions."

"Mine." He stepped to the side, and I followed him quickly. Two heartbeats later, a wyvern corpse fell and splattered, coating us further. "I'm very done with this."

"The infirmary must be even more of a mess." I looked at the corpse, and thought of the Macedonian soldiers we left behind at Aurelis castle, under guard. I never did learn about what happened to that soldier I'd saved; I'd been too scared. "Do we treat horses in the infirmary?"

"We have more specialized ones for that." Marth hummed a little in thought. "Well, that may be for more everyday things. Why?"

"I'm just trying to imagine how crowded the infirmary might be." There was a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye, and a giant gust of wind nearly took me off my feet. I actually had to stumble back and turn, bringing my hand up to shield my eyes from the bits of dirt kicked up.

When my vision cleared, I saw the source of the wind: Minerva.

I almost conjured up a spell, but Marth raised his hand to stop me, and shook his head. I gave him an incredulous look in reply, but he pointed to her, and it took me a moment to realize what he was getting at. While she _did_ have an axe, a really expensive looking one, it was hooked on her waist, not in her hands at all. Her arms were crossed, showing she had no intentions of reaching for it. A quick glance showed there were none near; the closest were the trio of pegasus knights flying over head. Whatever she was here for, it didn't appear to be for a fight.

"I am Princess Minerva of Macedon, Captain of the Whitewings," she declared, voice soft, yet commanding. She stood in her saddle, perfectly balanced and poised despite literally standing on a large flying creature. "You are Prince Marth, yes? Where are Princess Nyna and Duke Hardin?"

"...Princess Nyna is in the infirmary tent," Marth answered slowly. He stepped forward, bloody blade in hand. I hung back, clutching my worn tome. "Duke Hardin is elsewhere, securing the villages. I'm afraid you must make do with me."

"It makes sense that the Coyote is there, though a shame about Princess Nyna. I didn't get to meet her last time, just her bodyguard." There was a slight smile on her face. "How are they?"

"Last I checked, they were well." Marth tilted his head curiously. "You know them?"

"There was a bit of trouble with deserters kidnapping some village girls. We formed a temporary truce to save them, while keeping very careful and cautious." The smile faded. "You're younger than I expected, but then again, my memory tells me you're sixteen."

"I am. I believe you are not much older than me, though, Princess Minerva. Two?"

"Three, actually. Though, perhaps the months make it two and a half." The slight smile returned. "I've been wanting to meet you. I heard you provided care for the soldiers you captured. You have my thanks. Many fight because they are afraid, or feel that this is the only option."

"Why would it be?" Marth looked up at her with sad eyes. "Why join with Dolhr?"

"...Our allies left us alone to fight." The smile fell again. "There are other reasons, of course, but that one became the catalyst for everything that was to come. We had to choose to fight and die alone, or surrender and live. But talking of bygone decisions is not why I am here. I simply wished to see and speak to you prior to departing."

"...Departing?"

"Yes, I and mine are leaving. I cannot stomach these tactics. He sends my soldiers into a grinder in the hopes that you might fall with them." She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Those who wish to leave will come with me. I fear you must deal with the rest as you see fit."

"Wait, but won't that get you in trouble?" Marth stepped forward again, and held out his hand. "Perhaps you can simply come with us?"

"...You offer…?" She looked briefly surprised before she started laughing. It did wonders to soften her demeanor and face, and I was reminded a bit of Elice. "You are such a curious person, Prince Marth." She shook her head, but this time, the smile did not fade. "I cannot join you at this time. There are… extenuating circumstances. But I will remember."

There was another bit of movement, and I turned to look at it, just in case it was an ambush, and because I was two for two on movement and weird shit. This time, though, it was… very weird. There was a hooded person, their stiff movements hinting they were elderly. I glanced back at Marth, hesitated, and then went over to the person.

"What are you doing out here in this mess?" I whispered, wrapping an arm around whoever it was. "Come on. Let's at least get you to the side."

"Ah, thank you…" they whispered. They looked up and smiled. "My name is Bantu. You are?"

"It's Kris, old man." I guessed he was male, based on the voice and face. He could correct me if I was wrong. "Just lean on me."

"Thank you." He did just that, and the two of us hobbled over towards the side of the battle. I'd hoped to run into someone with a horse, but we didn't. This area of the field was devoid of any allies, and so, I kept hobbling, trying to remember where the closest village was.

A sound, though, caught my attention, and I looked up, curious. I then froze as cavaliers wearing Macedonian armor slowly approached. I took a step back automatically, but found that my back was to some mountains. I was pinned, with this old man depending on me. This was lame.

"Well, we're in trouble," I whispered, letting go of the old man. I brought up my tome, and grimaced. Unless I got lucky, I'd only get one shot before they were on me. "I'll buy you some time. Just head up, and you'll run into some others."

"I suppose I would just be in your way," the old man sighed. He made some sort of noise, and pointed towards my pack."What is that in your pocket?"

"What are you…?" I reached in and pulled out the gem. "You mean this? It's nothing. How did you even know-?"

"Ah, I thought so." He took the gem from me with a small smile. "Perfect, I thought it lost."

"Old man, I'm glad you got your worthless gem back." Sarcasm dripped from my words as the cavaliers approached. A few were grinning. " _But_ we're kinda in a situation here if you didn't notice and-"

"And I need to thank you for getting me to safety." His smile widened. "Stay right here."

"What are you…?" I yelped as the man suddenly burst forward, running far faster than I would've thought, considering earlier. "Hey, wait! Get back here!" I took a step forward, reaching out. Then, there was a flash of light, and suddenly, there was no hooded man anymore. Instead, _there was a fucking dragon_. I stared in shock, awe, and horror as the _dragon_ roared, the sound ripping through the air, echoing off the mountains. The sound of cracking made me glance up briefly, and I saw _landslides_ had resulted from the roar.

By the time I looked back, the dragon was fighting. No, it wasn't a fight. It was a slaughter. Giant, vicious claws ripped through armor like it was nothing but paper. Sharp, jagged teeth crunched through wyverns like they were apples. The giant bulk shrugged off any sort of attack and simply crushed those stupid enough to get close. Then, most horrifying, the dragon roared again, triggering another batch of landslides, and breathed out fire. The smell of smoke and ash rippled through the air, but there wasn't even the smell of cooked meat. Those the dragon killed had burned too quickly to smell of anything but ash.

Somehow, through all of that, the sound of wings caught my ear, and I looked up to see Minerva and three pegasus knights flying away, one of which had pink hair, like Est. That pink-haired one actually waved, so I _really_ thought it might be her. But they just… disappeared, and I returned my attention to the old man turned dragon, tearing his way through the enemy army.

This was, officially, the weirdest. Day. Ever.

* * *

"You have my deepest thanks, Prince Marth, for the food and care you have given me," Bantu murmured, bowing deeply. After he'd finished killing everything, he'd been exhausted, and so, we'd taken care of him. It seemed like the smartest decision. "I am truly grateful."

"I should be thanking you for saving us," Marth replied, laughing softly. It was just him, me, and Bantu in this little study. I kept quiet, and in the corner of the room, exhausted, but not wanting Marth to talk to this guy alone. "I'm surprised that the gem is your… what did you call it?"

"My dragonstone, specifically a 'firestone'." Bantu brought it out of his robes, and held it up. "I am a fire manakete, and so, I use a firestone. You can tell what sort of dragon one is, thanks to the stones. Most of those you'll find with Medeus, though, are Earth dragons."

"Is that so?" Marth looked curious now, and I saw him check the urge to pace. He was standing too, giving Bantu the only chair in the room. "But why do you appear…?"

"Human? Well, it's much easier to move around among humans if you look like them." Bantu laughed softly. "We started turning mad, long ago, and sealed our powers into stones so that we did not go feral. The path you know as Anri's Way is littered with dragons who refused, and now, they are little more than beasts. Medeus was the only one of the Earth Dragons to angry to Naga's proposal."

"Really?" Marth looked surprised. "But now he's…"

"Ah, yes, Medeus has changed." Bantu sighed, closing his eyes. "He was a prince of the Earth Dragons, a proud scholar during our Golden Age. But there was a shift in the world, and slowly, we began degenerating. We would be nearly overcome with destructive urges, and felt the need to rampage. Naga proposed we become manaketes. Most of the Earth Dragons refused, seeing humans as merely insects, and so, we had a great war. The Earth Dragons fell, sealed beneath Dragon's Table, and Medeus was entrusted to looking after the seal."

"And he founded the Dolhr empire."

"Eventually, yes. But, in the meantime, he remained. He remained, and he watched. Humans were not so forgiving of the damage we had inflicted, both with our urges and with our war. To them, our saving them came too late. Slowly, they persecuted us, enslaved us. Medeus grew to detest humanity, and that hatred became a poison, as he did not meet the humans who fought to free manaketes, and who provided safe havens. He saw only the darkest of them, and that darkness corrupted him as well. I imagine being the sole survivor of his people did not help matters." He shook his head. "Well, you know the story from there. He eventually brought most of the manaketes together, founded the empire, and launched a brutal assault on humans. He ruled for five years, and then Duke Cartas founded the resistance. Thus began the War of Liberation."

"Now he does so again." Marth clenched his fists, but there was sadness in his eyes. "Why did it come to this?"

"Dragons have long memories, and our age works against us many times. Trust an old man on that." Bantu laughed a bit. "Regardless, I do have a question. I do not suppose you've seen a young girl with green hair named Tiki?"

"I… do not think so, no." Marth glanced at me, and I shook my head. "I'll ask around, of course."

"I see." Bantu drooped a bit. "Oh, where did she go? She must be worried."

"Who is she?"

"Tiki is… my charge, I suppose you could say. She is the daughter of Naga, the last of the Divine Dragons who can transform." He sighed, and didn't seem to notice Marth and I exchange alarmed looks. It seemed like a proper response to hearing the _daughter of a god_ was just walking about. "We were wandering to let her see the world, but I heard you had returned, Prince Marth, and so, we were making our way here to lend our support. Tiki's powers are very great. She would be quite helpful to you, and the rumors of your personality made me hope you could be helpful to her."

"I'd be delighted to meet her, and I promise, we'll keep an eye out." Marth smiled, and I tried to relax. "But it seemed to me that you are quite helpful yourself?"

"Oh, you flatter an old man. I may be a fire dragon, but it name alone. My age has weakened me considerably." He laughed a bit, once again not noticing the alarmed looks Marth and I shared. If he was weak, then what did that mean about Medeus? Yes, you heard the legends and all, but it didn't seem real until a _weak_ dragon showed up. "Ah, I am tired…"

"O-of course!" Marth stepped forward and helped Bantu up. "Here, there should be a knight outside. They'll take you to a room. Thank you so much for taking to me." There was a bit more of polite nonsense, but it wasn't long before Marth and I were alone, with a heavy silence threatening to choke us.

"So, I think I made a mention of us being the definition of crazy," I noted lightly, trying to break the silence. The heaviness only seemed to grow, though. "Freaking hell, we're in trouble."

"I suppose we should make retrieving the Falchion a priority after liberating Archanea," Marth whispered. He sat down heavily in Bantu's vacated chair, and started to tremble. "That was weak."

"Yeah."

"That was weak. Medeus and any other dragons we fight will be stronger."

"I can check if there are other dragonslaying weapons. Surely, there has to be some, right?"

"Right." He sighed heavily, covering his face in his hands. "I wonder if this is what Anri felt?"

"Anri just wanted to save Artemis, according to the stories. I'd say this is more of what Cartas felt." I stepped over and nudged his shoulder. "Come on, pretty boy. Go for one of your dramatic speeches."

"They're not… dramatic…" He laughed weakly and looked up at the ceiling. "...I will win. I will take up what my father started. I will avenge him, and I will bring light to this world."

"See? Dramatic." I laughed and he rolled his eyes. "Come on. Let's go see Caeda. I want more to laugh at, and seeing you try to flirt does wonders."

"I do not flirt!" He went beet-red, and I laughed again. "You're horrible."

"Yes, yes, come on." I took his arm and dragged him out of the room. "To Caeda!"

* * *

 _Notes on Julian:_

 _A 19 year old thief, and former bandit_

 _A fast and observant man who often takes a deadpan approach to danger, as well as saying dorky things to make people laugh as an 'Ally of Justice'._

 _Has a crush on Lena, though he denies it fiercely_

 _Apparently the 'older brother' of our other thief, Ricard_

 _Notes on Lena:_

 _An 18 year old cleric_

 _A Macedonian, as proven by the trademark red hair, who speaks and moves with the refinement of a noble. Her accent, however, is primarily Grustian._

 _A kindly healer, with a… interesting older brother. However, she is passionate about her duties, and strong-willed, meaning she's also really stubborn_

 _Pretty certain she has a crush on Julian, but seems to try and ignore it. For some reason._

 _Notes on Navarre:_

 _A 20(?) year old Myrmidon (no one seems to know how old he actually is, even himself)_

 _A mysterious swordsman who lets few, if any, past his walls. Stoic and calm at all times, whether he's resting, or killing. Though Athena's oddness does make him give 'what the hell' looks._

 _Seems to have a thing against fighting or killing women, but it's also clear from his limited interactions that it's for no chauvinistic reason. He's also soft on children._

 _He's rivals with Ogma, and the only time he's happy seems to be when the two are sparring._

* * *

Author's notes: The idea of Abel meeting Est here comes from the manga, as is Minerva and Marth actually having a bit of a conversation here. Bantu is the first playable manakete of the game (and series) and the only playable male manakete (there are others of draconic descent, but Bantu is the only playable male of the manakete class thus far in the series; the only other playable male who can transform into a dragon via dragonstone is a male!Corrin, I believe.). Have a bit more Kris backstory too, an expansion to the previous bit. Wyvern riders, in FE1/11, were actually a promoted class, specifically promoted from the pegasus knights.

I'm fairly certain Medeus's backstory only shows up in supplementary resources, but I'm bringing it in.

Next Chapter - Coastal Skirmish


	17. Chapter 7) Coastal Skirmish

Chapter 7) Coastal Skirmish

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _Our little army has made it to Archanean soil, surprisingly enough, and it feels very strange. At Marth's insistence, everyone is recuperating and enjoying themselves in Port Warren. Always a popular and rich town, it had used its extensive coin to keep itself self from Medy's forces, but the high taxes were straining even the most wealthy of merchants, so our arrival has been met with much fanfare._

 _Of course, I highly doubt this fun will last. Port Warren was important, defensively and economically, and there are forts nearby. We'll be fighting for a ship before long, literally._

* * *

"Oh, this is delightful!" Nyna laughed, clinging to my arm as we wandered the Port Warren market. She had always wanted to visit, apparently, and so, we had donned some simple clothes and gone out, though she was hooded just as before. She was pretending to be just a simple healer with the army, and I was her mercenary friend. It wasn't quite a lie, and thus, it was easier for her to remember. "Are those fish?"

"Yes, they're fresh fish, straight from the ocean," I replied, laughing, and not just because her eyes were sparkling. Thanks to the healers, while I still had a few bandages, most of my injuries had faded to simple scars, meaning that I was _almost_ back to full health finally. It was an amazing feeling. "You've seen fresh fish before."

"But not out in the market like that!" She pointed to a cluster of stands. "What are they selling? It smells amazing!"

"Looks like some sort of cooked meat. Pork, maybe?"

"They sell cooked meat?"

"Yeah, people buy more food when hungry, and what better way to make someone hungry by enticing them with smells!" I laughed again and tugged her away from the clusters of food. "Come along. You've already bought up your allowance."

"I can't believe you gave me one!" She huffed, pouting at me. "I had to do arithmetic. I hate that."

"Math saves lives, missy." I scowled back, but grinned quickly. I happened to like math a lot, but I loved that she was finally relaxing. She had been tense all of yesterday. "Are you complaining about your purchases?"

"No, I just wish I had bought more." She had purchased gifts for when she reunited with Midia, Jeorge, and Astram, as well as some others from the palace. She knew a lot of them were likely dead, but she'd still bought them presents as a gesture of hope. "I need to get _you_ a bunch of gifts."

"Now why waste your money like that?"

"Because I am your friend, and I should spoil you as you spoil me, of course." She sulked and I snickered. "There's also your payment. You are a mercenary, after all. I shan't accept excuses."

"I'm your bodyguard."

"Bodyguards have salaries too, silly." She giggled. "Though, I certainly won't mind if we continue this arrangement even after the war ends."

"Same, truthfully. I'd probably fret that you're wearing the wrong shade of blue." I laughed as she rolled her eyes. We'd had an argument over that just the other day. "But listen to you! Talking about when the war ends!"

"We'll make it end, of course. I, of all people, must hold onto that faith." She sighed, drooping a little. "Many fight in my name for that. Many die."

"I know." I nudged her side and pulled her into a hug. "I'm just teasing."

"As always." She childishly stuck her tongue out at me and I laughed. "Oh, what are those?"

"Sound like wind chimes." I pointed to where a merchant had a bunch on display. "See? Over there."

As Nyna squealed in delight, though, a flicker of movement and my own instincts made me pause and subtly glance behind my shoulder. I saw nothing suspicious out of hand, but I drew Nyna a little closer to me as we continued to walk through the market. She continued to chatter on happily, but I kept a closer eye on our surroundings and noticed a cloaked figure was 'conveniently' always a few steps behind us. There were many cloaked people, of course, but this one wore red underneath, a very distinctive color and not one you'd find a lot. So, I began subtly leading Nyna away from the market, and down to a secluded area not far from where our group was staying. Nyna noticed by then that something was wrong and easily played along, loosening her grip on me so that I could move a little faster.

As soon as we were there, and as soon as I had confirmed our little stalker had followed us there, I drew blade and whirled. They ducked immediately, but I hooked my leg around theirs and pulled it out from under them. Their hand shot out to grab my shirt, pulling me down with them. They then tried to twist me under, but I got my legs around them and brought my sword up as I pinned them down, settling the point in the ground so that I could put all my weight in decapitating them.

I paused, however, when I noticed something. Our stalker had long blonde hair, tied in a ponytail, and wore a stupid striped red scarf that I recognized in a heartbeat because it _always drove me damned insane_.

"You still have very poor sense in fashion, Jeorge," I said lightly, glowering down at him. He simply grinned in reply. "I'm going to burn this scarf."

"I like it," Jeorge laughed. The sound made me relax slightly. I only really knew him from afar, had only a handful of conversations with him that were light and nonsensical, but I knew him as Astram's best friend, and someone Charles liked a lot. That laughter, in the distance, had always meant something kind. "But you always complain about the scarf, first thing. All three conversations we've had, and you've skipped the greetings to complain."

"At least get it in a better _shade_ of red."

"No way, this is special." He grinned, and gave me a rather appreciative look as he reached up and messed with a bit of hair that had fallen over my shoulders. "You're a sight for sore eyes though, Diana."

"Is this you trying to flirt? Again?"

"Not exactly, since I really am glad to see someone I know." His grin widened. " _You're_ the one pinning me to the ground. Not that I'm complaining."

"I'm sure. Even with the sword at your neck?"

"Oh, you won't do anything yet. I'm safe."

"Perfectly."

"Jeorge?" Nyna finally peered over my shoulder, and Jeorge casually waved at her when he saw her. "Jeorge, what are you doing here?" she asked, eyes wide. She looked too shocked to cry. "I mean…"

"I'm under a very lovely lady, Nyna," Jeorge _instantly_ replied. She scowled, and I started snickering, unable to help it. "What does it look like?"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." She sighed heavily and crouched down next to him. "Oh, be serious."

"Serious me is boring." Jeorge shrugged, still unbothered by everything. "It's simple. I saw you two, thought I recognized you, and followed to try and get a view of your faces."

"You could have just approached."

"No, the subtle way was a better confirmation," I explained. I already knew his game, and I knew it for one clear reason; Charles had _always_ praised Jeorge for being clever and crafty. "If we weren't who he thought we were, then we wouldn't have noticed him trailing. He was just subtle enough to not cause attention, while being obvious enough to make sure it caught my eye."

"You think quite highly of me," Jeorge replied. He grinned. "I'm not _that_ smart."

"No, you're smarter, and don't even try. Charles loved praising you."

"Well, now I'm certain to blush." He sighed, though. "Okay, I give. Yes, I played you to see if I was right. Happy?"

"I suppose." I smiled slightly. "We'd heard you escaped. How?"

"Oh, they're not even half as bright as they are strong." He lifted a hand and waved their imaginary images off. "I escaped while they weren't paying attention."

"Where?"

"They had me tied up on a ship, and I used a nail to loosen my bindings before jumping overboard and swimming." He laughed as I groaned. "I swam to here, and worked on collecting information and recuperating. I heard you and Princess Nyna had escaped, and I was planning on reaching you. Then I heard of Prince Marth, and figured you'd be here before long."

"Thus why you were even out looking at people. Everyone and their dead knows we're here."

"Yep, and that includes the Grust soldiers in the forts." Jeorge's eyes became serious. "I'm sure the local mercenaries have already located Prince Marth to tell him. We'd best catch up."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Are you two going to always have serious conversations while she's pinning you, Jeorge?" Nyna deadpanned. She looked completely exasperated at both of us, and I smiled slightly at the sight. She did need more friends. "She's straddling you and everything."

"I have very little to complain about, except for the rock trying to stab me in the back and the sword at my neck," Jeorge retorted. He grinned and she sighed. "Come now. You know the rumors."

"You spread most of those rumors so that people don't take you seriously, but I do admit to hearing some tales from Midia..." She sighed. "Oh, come along. I at least get to see you two bantering like I hoped. It's been as entertaining and exasperating as I thought it would."

"Aw, but that means I have to get up."

"If you want her to pin you again, you may court my best friend _properly_ , Jeorge."

I ended up letting Jeorge up after that because I was too busy laughing my ass off at his look of mock horror, and her look of half-playful sternness. Things were going to be a lot more interesting. I could already tell that.

* * *

When we returned, Prince Marth and the others were already on their way to battle, warned by two mercenaries I recognized: Caesar and Radd. Jeorge happily, yet politely, introduced himself, and I swore Gordin and Norne had stars in their eyes when he did. Since tactics had already been decided, Jeorge was assigned to assist me in guarding the infirmary, which suited him fine since that's where Nyna was.

"Quite a few here for our motley crew," Jeorge noted lightly as he shot down another armored knight trying to clang his way towards us while I took out a mage that had darted too close. Jeorge was known far and wide as the best sniper on the continent. Part of that was people just trying to bring fame to his house, but all rumors had a basis. Jeorge's greatest asset in fighting wasn't his strength or speed. It was his ability to calculate _everything_. How much the wind for push an arrow, how much gravity would pull it down. How much a shield or armor would deflect. Even when and how people moved. He could predict it all with terrifying ease, and he used it to effortlessly kill his targets, even the more heavily armored. "You're staring."

"Your headband is crooked," I replied easily. I wiped my hands on my shorts and reached up to fix it. It had been Nyna's silly little gift to him, and she'd been embarrassed by it, but Jeorge had put it on proudly. "There. Better. Though I'm not sure how it's avoided getting bloody."

"Sniper. Distance. Unlike you, miss swords lady." He smiled. "Thanks for fixing it. I could tell something was off because sweat was getting into my eyes."

"I figured when you took longer than normal." Still, I smiled slightly. That had been the reason for Nyna to buy Jeorge a headband in the first place. "But yes, there's quite a few." But, thankfully, not a lot actually got through to us. "Damn, I'm out of practice…" I was already exhausted, more so than I should've been. "I've barely fought or killed anyone yet."

"Well, I heard you nearly died." He frowned, giving me a worried look. "Should you get checked? Your injuries aren't quite healed, right?"

"No, but they won't kill me unless something really goes wrong, which is better than the ones in the infirmary right now." I winced as a particularly pained scream filtered through the closed tent flap. "They ran out of numbing herbs."

"We should buy out the market next chance we get. Then maybe we'll have enough for a battle." Jeorge sighed and reached back to undo his ponytail. "I need a better hair tie. This keeps slipping."

"So you say, but I'm sure you're just waiting for the dramatic hair falling out of a ponytail thing."

"I've had that a few times. It's not dramatic and it just reminds me why I keep it tied back in the first place." He redid his ponytail and looked around. "Looks like they've abandoned guarding the ones shouting orders." He pointed to one such soldier, all the more noticeable because he wore blue armor in contrast to the red armor the rest were wearing. "...Who is the pegasus knight among our group again?"

"Princess Caeda. Why?" He pointed up, and I noticed Princess Caeda had fallen back for some reason. "...She's not carrying a wounded, and she doesn't look like she's bleeding enough to fall back to here."

"So, what is she doing out of formation?"

"No clue." I watched as Princess Caeda eyed the field critically. "But I think she has a plan."

I was soon proven right, but I had no idea what was going through her head as she suddenly swooped down to the soldier giving orders. "Good day, sir!" she greeted cheerfully. She held up her hands as the soldier yelped and tried to stab her. "Peace, I mean no harm. My name is Caeda; I hail from Talys." She smiled gently, and while she remained unarmed, I noticed she didn't dismount. "I'd love to talk."

"W-what are you talking about?!" the knight yelped, for _obvious reasons_. He looked at her like she'd hit her head really hard. I tried to see if there _was_ a head injury, but I was a little too far back to see much. I could barely hear them through all the fighting. "This is a battlefield!"

"That does not mean we should discard simple civility." Her smile warmed. "Might I asked your name, good sir?"

"M-my name? That's.." He glanced around, looking a little lost. "It's Roger. Why?"

"What a lovely name." Princess Caeda giggled, and it sounded a little… flirtatious, yet absolutely innocent. "Forgive me, Roger. You looked so sweet and kind that I simply had to strike up a conversation."

"I… okay?" Poor Roger looked more and more confused. Jeorge and I simply glanced at each other in amused shock. "But what conversation? Topic, I mean."

"Hmm… let me think." Princess Caeda paused a bit, frowning a bit, before smiling. "Well, tell me, do you believe in love?" She laughed a bit as Roger choked on a yelp. "Oh, goodness, listen to me. That's a horrible conversation topic. Though, I'm sure someone as kind as you has a sweetheart."

"What?!" Roger's face started turning red. "N-no, I'm quite… unattached at the moment."

"Truly? That's quite a surprise." Princess Caeda opened her mouth to say something more, but flinched at a particularly loud war scream. It was faked. I'd seen her hold her calm even when someone bellowed in her ear. "Goodness, this is a rough battle. The poor children…"

"Children?"

"The women and children who are left behind, of course. Each soldier here has a family, friends, that are left behind to cry. I joined the League to put a stop to this but…" Princess Caeda sniffed, and by this point, I had to struggle not to laugh. This was so damn hilarious, and no enemies near meant I got to watch. "Oh, doesn't it just break your heart?"

"Aye, Miss Caeda, it does." Roger's expression fell and he reached over to pat her shoulder. "There, there. I too wish for this needless war to end soon."

"Really?" Princess Caeda glanced up shyly. "Might you consider fighting alongside us to end it?"

"What?" Roger's face blanked before he shook his head. "Heavens… I couldn't betray my country. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it was a simply whimsical question." Princess Caeda put on a brave smile. "You must have a family counting on you."

"No, not really." Roger shrugged. "My parents are dead, and most of my friends have also fallen to this madness. Still, Grust is my home."

"Yes, of course. I'm so sorry to bother you." Princess Caeda nudged her pegasus and had it step back. "Thank you for talking with me, Roger. You're every bit the man I thought you were."

"Wait, you're leaving!?"

"Well, yes? I must." Princess Caeda glanced around nervously, though there were still no enemies near. Not even an archer. "I mean… what if your comrades thought you were conspiring with me? I couldn't bear to put you in danger. No, I must leave, and quickly…"

"...You're very kind, Miss Caeda." Roger paused. "Dare I say… you're quite unlike anyone I've ever met…" He paused once more and sighed. "Aw, what the hell? Fine, fine, I'll go with you."

"Truly?" Princess Caeda's eyes lit up. "Oh, wonderful! Here, get on my pegasus. I'll take you to Marth. We're trying to escape to the docks, you see, because we're afraid of dragging the civilians further into the mess…"

"I've got a path." Roger awkwardly climbed on behind her. "Can your pegasus hold me with my armor?"

"He's quite strong. Hold on!" Princess Caeda took off then, easily, and likely secured us the _fastest route out of here because she'd flirted with an enemy soldier_.

"Caeda is officially the most terrifying person in the army," I deadpanned, unable to help it as I watched her leave. Jeorge simply laughed, with genuine admiration in his eyes. "Holy shit. I'm glad that girl is on our side. Can you imagine?" But, still, even if it was really conniving, and even if there was no way I could pull the same thing off, it did… give me a little hope that maybe, just maybe, I could keep that promise to Nyna, and get Camus to come to our side.

"Well, Medeus would get a lot more followers," Jeorge replied. He snickered. "Maybe even myself."

"Like hell. Astram and Charles always talked about how you're loyal to Nyna, and don't suffer fools and tyrants. Something about you calling out a high ranked lord?"

"You'll have to be more specific. I did that a lot, and then hid behind my 'heir to Menedy' shield." He shook his head and brought up his bow again, eyes narrowed. "With that, we'll be on a ship before long."

"Yep." I shifted to better my stance as I saw a few more enemies approach. They looked confused, since the one who had been shouting orders… had flown off with a pretty enemy. That made them perfect for Jeorge and me to pick off. "We'll clear these guys out, and then we'll start getting everyone ready."

"Sounds good." He smirked, and his eyes glinted coldly. "Let's do this."

* * *

As predicted, we got on the ship very quickly, and we set off. Within a mark, people were seasick. Poor Kris and Nyna seemed to be the worst off, though many of the Aurelisi like Wolf were almost as bad.

I sprinkled some scented oil throughout Nyna's room to hide the smell of vomit, since she'd lost the battle with her stomach twice, and moved to check that she was asleep. I brought the blankets up to cover her better and set her mug of ginger tea on the nearby shelf, within easy reach. Then I picked up her stained clothes and stepped outside the room, pausing a bit as I noticed the smell of stale air, among other things. This wasn't the best ship, but it had been ready the quickest, and it was entirely seaworthy, and so we were off. For now, we were simply heading out to sea, but we'd land at another port and continue our trek through Archanea from there.

"Oh, Dame Diana!" Sister Lena walked up, carrying a basket full of clothes. The haphazard way they were placed, and the signs of stains, hinted they were dirty. "Here, put that in with this," she suggested, holding the basket out. I hesitated a moment before doing so. "I'm on break, so I figured I'd wash some clothes. Princess Nyna's require a certain soap, right? So do the rest of these. They're too delicate."

"They are," I replied, smiling slightly. I fell in step next to her as she walked down the hall. "I'm impressed. Not many realize that."

"Well, I'm a noble myself, technically." She laughed a little as I stared. "It's not so unusual for those of nobility to serve in the church."

"I suppose not." It just… made me curious. "Your accent is Grustian, but your hair color is more typical for Macedonia."

"My family is part of a high ranked Macedonian family, but my mother was always part of the church. She was assigned as the Court Bishop for Grust, and so, I moved in with her. When she died, I lived with my maternal grandfather, who worked as a healer in a nearby village instead of returning to my father." She laughed a bit. "I actually worked alongside General Camus then. I would tend injuries and he'd help them repair houses and wells, or went bandit hunting for them, all on his own."

"Is this why you snapped at him?"

"Oh, yes. He was the one who taught me that justice required self-sacrifice, but there was wonder if doing the right thing. I couldn't understand how he, of all people, would just… let all this happen." Her cheer faltered slightly. "I hope I can apologize. I realize now that he hadn't just been 'letting'. He'd been protecting Princess Nyna." She hesitated and stepped a little closer so that she could talk more quietly. "I guessed then that they were… involved, or at least they had feelings. Are they?"

I hesitated a bit, but then I nodded slowly. Healers tended to be good secret keepers in my experience. "Yes, but keep it quiet."

"Of course. I was just worried." She sighed. "War is horrific. I hope it ends soon."

"As do most of us." I smiled slightly. "So, you were in Grust. How did you end up in Archanea to steal from the treasury?"

"Oh, well…" She coughed, and actually turned red. "Well, when Michalis took the throne, I was called back to the estate to serve as a bishop under Princess Minerva. Of course, it seemed as if the true reason was for me to marry Michalis."

"...Were you forced?"

"No, but I was 'asked'." She put a lot of sarcasm in that last word. "He hoped to forge an alliance with my family through it, and monopolize my supposed wisdom. I, in a sudden burst of defiance, refused bluntly and fled. From there, well…" She shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I went to Archanea to tend to the injured and met Rickard."

"I see." I laughed a bit and her sheepishness only grew. "Well, that's strong willed of you."

"Yes, though I fear my family, especially my brother, had to bear the brunt of Michalis's anger over it." She sighed a bit, but then made a little noise of surprise. "Oh, we're at the split." That we were. She'd be heading right to head up to the deck, while I'd… either turn left to go to the wash basin or back to Nyna's room. "It was lovely talking to you, Dame Diana." She skipped ahead a bit, before pausing. "Actually, the talk of marriages and running away reminded me…" She turned to face me with a curious look. "You remind me of someone I only knew at the Grustian Court, someone my mother had wanted to train to succeed her."

"Oh?" I stilled, tensing. I had a very bad feeling suddenly. "How so?"

"Similar face and eyes, mainly. Her name was Kresimira." I tried not to flinch at the name. "She was forcibly married to a nobleman by her parents, and fled during the reception, disappearing into the night. No one has seen her since. It's been… goodness, it's been seven years since then. It was the year after my mother died." Sister Lena smiled slightly. "She was a kind girl, comforting me when I was mourning my mother." That was her? I couldn't believe she was the same girl. "I suppose that's another way you remind me of her."

"Kindness isn't uncommon, and my looks are pretty typical for a Grustian." I kept my voice light, even, though I wanted to scream. 'Kresimira'. I hadn't heard that name in eight years. I thought I'd never hear it again. "Sorry."

"No, no, it's certainly not your fault." Her smile widened. "I was just thinking… if she had survived, would she have been like you?"

"Hopefully not. I'm a rather horrible person."

"I don't think so. But, then again, you are entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to mine." She laughed a bit. "I'll get to washing these. Do you have enough medicine for Princess Nyna?"

"Yeah, but I should get some more damp clothes." I stepped down the other hallway, waving over my shoulder. It was a convenient excuse. "See you later, Sister Lena."

If she replied, I didn't really hear her through the roaring in my ears. I'd have to be careful around her. I wasn't that girl anymore. I wasn't. I was Diana, the mercenary, the bodyguard. I wasn't that girl, even if I had her memories…

I shook my head roughly, and glowered at the floorboards as I made my way towards the basin of water set up on the end of the hall here, specifically so that we could have wet rags and the like. When I reached there, I snatched a few with a little more force than necessary, and wrung them out as if I were wringing the necks of my birth parents. My hands shook, and I felt ill.

"So, what did the rags do to insult you?" A voice made me tense, and I almost dropped my hand to my sword before I realized I knew the voice. I turned and confirmed that it was Jeorge, who was carrying a few rags himself. "You were glaring something fierce," he continued lightly, smiling teasingly. "So?"

"Nothing," I replied. I was proud of how even my voice was. "I was just thinking."

"Of people you want dead?"

"Maybe, though I do not see how that is any business of yours." I pointed to the rags he was carrying. "You on cleaning duty?"

"I distracted Wolf until he fell asleep through talks of archery, and offered Duke Hardin to rewet the rags for him." He shrugged. "I was heading back when I caught sight of you, with a thunderstorm in your eyes based on the glare."

"I see." I shrugged, not willing to elaborate. "Well, did you have anything to say to me?"

"Aw, I need an excuse?" He flashed a grin, but then it faded. "Well, surprisingly, I do indeed. I was curious if you knew about most of the Wolf Pack being poisoned prior to the palace falling." He said the words lightly, but they hit me with all the shock of ice water on a winter's day. "The look says 'no'."

"What poison?" My voice was tiny, and my stomach rolled again, this time for similar yet different reasons. Tonight was just not my night. "What are you talking about?"

"Just that. Poison. Most of the Wolf Pack mercenaries had been badly poisoned by a slow acting poison, and one that didn't really have an antidote. Low doses, the body can take care of on its own, but the amount they had…"

"That's…" My mind whirled, trying to think through it all. Who would do that? Why? It had been a losing battle, so I couldn't imagine it being to get out of a contract. Spies? Infiltrators? "But I'm alright."

"Yep, it seems so." He shrugged. "Wonder why."

"Yes, why…?" It hit me quickly, though. "The wine. The alcohol. I rarely drink. I don't have a head for it."

"That does make sense." His sharp eyes, though, made it clear that he'd already figured that out. _That_ told me there was another reason for this line of conversation, and not just because he wanted to see if I'd known. "So-"

"Stop." I glared at him, barely checking the urge to punch him. "You're bringing this up to see if my resolve falters, or if I'll turn on Nyna. And I can guaran- _fucking_ -tee you that won't happen. Nyna is my best friend and, more to the point, she has _earned_ my loyalty. I don't give that lightly." I leaned forward, so that I was right in his face, and he watched me closely, but impassively. "So, I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to test me, Jeorge, and I swear that if you do so again, you'll find the business end of my sword right up your ass."

"That _does_ sound painful." His expression softened slightly, with a slight smile. There was also a bit of relief in his eyes. "Well, I can't guarantee it won't happen again. It's in my nature to tease and test people, sadly. But it won't be so…" He paused, clearly trying to think of a word. "I will not tread upon that scar again. I believe that is a safer thing to promise."

"Fine, I'll take it." I sighed, and slowly relaxed. "I do appreciate knowing, though. It gives me a bit more context for why Charles was so stupid back then in standing his ground." If he was going to be dead no matter what, he'd want to go out fighting. Most of them would make that choice. "However, I'm still mad."

"I'm sorry." His expression softened further. "With everything as it is…"

"I know. You were seeing if I was worthy of the job."

"Less that and checking that you're still the person I remember." He shook his head. "I don't know you well. I know you more through Astram, and Charles. But the person that I did meet… is exactly the type of person Princess Nyna needs." He smiled slightly. "It's been a long two years."

"...Yeah, I guess it has." I had to admit it made sense. He had, basically, spent two years gathering information, and likely was keenly aware of how many people had changed. "Next market we're at, though, I'm getting you a better scarf, gods damn it."

"Nope!" He grinned, all traces of seriousness gone. "I like this one!"

"Ugh, it looks horrible with your outfit!" I reached up to take it, but he danced out of reach. "Why do you even like it so much?"

"Perhaps I'll tell you, one day." His grin widened, his eyes dancing. "But not today!"

"Ugh…" I rolled my eyes, and he laughed. "Fine. I'll get you a better outfit. Prepare."

"To go on a date? My dear, you didn't need to go through such trouble to-"

I felt perfectly justified in throwing a wet towel in his face. I really did.

* * *

 _Notes on Merric:_

 _A 16 year old mage, wielder of the Excalibur spell_

 _Prince Marth's childhood friend, who had left Altea prior to its fall to study in Khadein._

 _A very amicable, and polite person, who takes delight in discussing various scholarly topics. He tries to befriend Kris in particular, since she's a good friend of Prince Marth as well, but she avoids him._

 _Very humble as well, frequently stating that Excalibur chose him only through luck. He talks often of someone named Arlen, a fellow student of his, and a Luthier, who apparently lives on the continent across the western seas._

 _Notes on Matthis:_

 _A 21 year old cavalier, brother of Sister Lena_

 _After Sister Lena left Macedonia, Sir Matthis was left to bear the brunt of King Micky's anger for the humiliation. As a result, he is rather timid around royals._

 _He's not very skilled, mostly because he joined the army unwillingly. His other recourse was to risk execution. Of course, his natural laziness doesn't help matters._

 _Despite all this, and despite having all the reasons in the world to be mad at her, he is devoted to his little sister, wanting her happiness above all else._

* * *

Author's Note: And now we have Jeorge, your pre-promote archer/sniper, and the first of his own little archetype ('simple travelers' who turn out to be high ranked nobles or, at least, plot related. Others in the archetype include Lewyn from FE4, Elphin from FE6, Ninian and Nils from FE7, and Joshua from FE8). He's recruited in Chapter 9 in FE1/11, and… well, chapter 9 in Book One of FE3, but since FE3 removed chapters, it's actually a future chapter. So, I moved his recruitment to here instead, since I'm removing FE11's chapter 9 due to the complete and total oddness of it and how removed it feels from the rest of the chapters. We also have Roger, who seriously has _one of the most hilarious recruitments ever, and Caeda is the damn best_. He actually doesn't show up in FE3 at all, but he's a char in FE1/11 and he's added into FE12.

Lena's backstory is, like most chars in FE1/11, revealed only through supplementary material. Luthier is a character from FE2, who makes a brief cameo in the FE3 manga. Also, have Diana's birth name.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Seas


	18. Interlude - Seas

Interlude - Seas

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _Grust caught us in the market, so we've escaped onto ships, since losing Medeus and his forces on the waters seems like a good tactic. We hide there for what feels like weeks, but was probably only a couple of days, plotting out where to sail to begin again._

 _I remember the last time we were on a ship. My stomach protests the memory. Luckily, no one thinks anything about someone being sick on a ship._

* * *

I hated ships. I hated ships. Why were we on a ship? I hated ships. Gods above, I hated ships.

"Easy, Kris," Marth murmured, rubbing my back soothingly. He was one of the two people on this ship who really knew why I was sick. Everyone else just thought it was seasickness, the same that got others, but it wasn't. No, I was sick because I remembered what happened the _first_ time I was on a ship, and while the trip from Talys hadn't been so bad, this one was. "I'm rather surprised you had anything left in your stomach to throw up."

"Shut up," I groaned, curling up a bit more. I was facing away from him, but he didn't mind. He just continued rubbing my back, and gently teasing me. "Ugh…"

"Do you want to try sleeping?"

"No, I see it when I close my eyes." I could see the fire coming. I could see my spell piercing through. I could see the ship slowly sink beneath the waves. "How much longer?"

"I don't know. We're trying to figure out the best place to land. We want to try and get as close to the Millenium Palace as we can, to make it easier to liberate."

"That's Archanea palace, right?" I whimpered as my stomach rolled again. I was going to have to kill more. I'd thought I was getting used to it, but clearly, I wasn't. "Then it's trying to find Falchion, because there's only one super sword that kills dragons."

"Wendell told us there's wyrmslayers and other things."

"I said 'super' sword." I sighed. "Be convenient if there was a second Falchion."

"Who would wield it, though?" Marth's voice saddened. "There is only my sister and me. Elise can't wield Falchion."

"Maybe she could wield the second?"

"She doesn't know swords. She never wanted to learn." A knock on the door startled both of us. "Come in?" Marth instantly flinched as the words came out automatically, and I had just enough time to roll over and glare at him before the door actually opened.

"Prince Marth?" A man I only vaguely recognized walked in, some new recruit Caeda brought in during the last battle. "My apologies for disturbing you," he continued, bowing. "I wished to speak with you, and was directed here."

"It's fine, soldier," Marth replied. I just hid under my blankets, barely resisting the urge to swat at him. "You are?"

"My name is Roger, sir, of Grust." Roger straightened and smiled slightly. "Well, I suppose 'formerly'. I thought it proper to ask your permission to join, but things got a little hectic there."

"Ah, yes, you're the one who helped us reach the docks." Marth smiled. "Might I ask about the sudden change of heart?"

"Well, my heart wasn't really in it and…" Roger's face began turning red. "This fetching lass named Caeda asked and…" He shrugged, grinning. He didn't seem to notice how Marth's face blanked. "Well, what can I say? I think I'm in love! Or, infatuated at least. You try saying no to a girl who stops in the middle of battle just to ask you about love." He laughed, and I had to resist the urge to giggle as I realized Caeda weaponized her good looks and charm. "Must've turned red as a strawberry!"

"I see…" Marth managed a smile, but all my amusement fell away at it. I doubted Roger would notice a difference, but I did. His smile was stiff compared to his usual. "I thank you for joining us, Roger. But… ah…" He gestured towards me, and I peeked over the covers to give my best pathetic look. "Kris really doesn't like being around people when she's ill."

"Oh, of course!" Roger's blush faded and he gave me a sympathetic smile. "I think the healers have a lovely ginger tea on pot. Should I make sure some comes this way?"

"That would be wonderful. Thank you." Math kept up that stiff-but-not-stiff smile as Roger bowed again and leaved, quietly shutting the door behind him.

"I bet it's a misunderstanding," I reassured. I reached out to grab his hand, squeezing it tightly. "I'm sure it's just Caeda being nice and Roger making assumptions." I gave him as best of a smile as I could, though I knew it was wan. "Why don't you go talk to her?"

"I can't leave you, though," he protested. He at least let the strained smile fall. "I mean…"

"Come on. You think you'll be helpful while moping?" I managed a grin as he grimaced. "Go on." I let go of his hand and nudged his side weakly. "Then come back for teasing."

"...Fine." He stood up and tucked the blanket around me. "I'll see if I can find someone to sit with you, though."

"I give." I pulled the blankets over my head again. "Make sure it's someone I can tolerate."

"Of course." He patted my back through the blanket and walked off, one slow step at a time. I heard the door open and then shut again. Then all was quiet.

I tried to not freak out. In the silence, though, I could hear the screams, and my stomach rolled again. I shivered and curled into myself, trying not to puke for the fifth time today. Marth was right. I really didn't have much in my stomach. If I threw up any more, I might actually have to move in with Lena, so that she could do some doctor thing to get me nutrients so I didn't starve. I didn't know the details. I just knew that malnutrition sucked.

The door opened again, and I cautiously peeked out from the blankets. To my surprise, I found Cain standing there, holding a steaming teacup, far finer than anything I thought we had.

"Apparently, Princess Nyna had a few of these in her things," he explained, taking Marth's vacated chair. He waited until I had pushed myself up before passing me it. "Dame Diana looked surprised, so she thinks it's something King Stephen of Aurelis snuck into everything. Princess Nyna doesn't want exclusive use for them, and she was in the infirmary getting her wounds looked at when I came to get you a mug, at Roger's request." He smiled slightly. "She heard it was for you and insisted you have one of the fancy mugs. Something about it making you laugh one way or another, and that was always good for a sick girl."

"Well, I'm laughing at how ridiculous it is for a thief to drink from such fancy things," I replied, giggling. I took a sip of the tea, and felt my stomach ease almost instantly. "What's this sweetened with?"

"Honey."

"We have honey?"

"Diana had some. She was making a cup for Princess Nyna, and insisted on adding it to yours as well." He smiled slightly. "I don't know if she has any idea of why you're really sick, or if it's just because you're sick, _or_ if it's because you're the only one as sick as Princess Nyna and her protective instincts carried over."

"She's a murdering mother." I grinned as he snickered. "So, what's going on with the army? I don't hear much."

"Cabin fever is setting in, which means everyone is going a _little_ crazy. Like Draug, who tried to lift up… oh, it must've been over five barrels with one hand on a dare."

"...Isn't Draug one of the more reasonable ones?" My eyes widened. "What else? Please tell me?"

"Sure." He grinned and launched into tales I half thought were made up on the spot. But I didn't care, because they made me laugh, and they kept me from thinking of that day I sank a ship and drowned a bunch of people.

The tea was nice, though. I'd have to remember to thank Diana for the honey.

* * *

At some point, Hardin poked his head in and insisted that I come onto the deck for some fresh air. I had wanted to protest, but he had been insistent, so I'd let him and Cain help me up on the deck. I quickly saw that Nyna was also up here, probably what prompted people thinking I needed to come up too, and had a very pretty, simple shawl wrapped around her as she sat on some small barrels. Diana, as always, was near her, calmly brushing and braiding her hair while snarking at something this Jeorge guy said. I didn't know much about him, other than he was the most skilled sniper on the continent, and that most of the archers in the army looked up to him as a role model. Watching them, though, he honestly just seemed like a guy trying to flirt. Then again, some of the most dangerous people I ever saw on the streets were the ones who acted like flirts and fools. No one expected them to be skilled. Maybe it was the same.

Still, as Cain and Hardin set me up on a different barrel-chair thing, I had to fight off the urge to scowl. Merric was chatting happily with Marth and Caeda, and while I was glad to see that the latter two were good, I was just… jealous. I was jealous, because he was a skilled mage, and… honestly, he was also Marth's friend. He was like me, but better. He was friendly, and not sarcastic. He was smart, and had a history with Marth. He was a noble, who actually knew his family. He was a powerful mage, with a super special spell.

What was I? Yes, I had talents, but it felt like he just overshadowed me. I thought I had a place, a role, something that I could _do_. I thought… you know… I had promised. I had promised to 'keep up with Marth'. But, if someone could do it better, then why…?

"Pegasus knight incoming!" someone shouted suddenly. Everyone jerked their heads up towards the air, where a pegasus knight seriously was heading right towards us, short blue hair flapping past her in the wind. I heard many archers string their bows and knock their arrows, but I noticed something quickly. I always did have good eyes.

"Don't shoot!" I screamed. I stumbled to my feet, pushing past Cain, and turned towards Marth, who brought up his hand instantly, silently ordering the archers to listen to me, even though I knew he couldn't see either. He just trusted me. "She's got her hands out, like the whole 'don't kill me please' gesture." I hesitated before adding. "Minerva had three with her when she left. One might've had blue hair like this one? I was a little distracted at the time."

"Still, there's a good chance this is not an enemy," Marth murmured. He nodded. "Very well. Let her land." He glanced at the archers, who looked hesitant. Only Gordin and Norne removed their arrows from their strings. "Now. Clear an area."

Slowly but surely, the soldiers listened, leaving a large area in the middle of the deck clear. As the pegasus knight spiraled down, I walked over to Marth and stood next to him. He'd done this at my recommendation. I had to see it through too.

The pegasus knight landed very gracefully and lightly in the cleared space, as if worried she'd scuff the wood. She dismounted just as gracefully, and then pointedly took the lance off her saddle and handed it to the closest person, Abel. Then she walked over and, _gracefully because this girl apparently did everything gracefully_ , knelt in front of Marth. "My name is Catria, Prince Marth," she whispered, bowing her head. "I am one of the Whitewings, Princess Minvera's personal forces. I bear a message from her."

"Is it about why she could not join us earlier?" Marth asked. He crouched slightly and touched Catria's face. "Raise your head. There's no reason to beg. I would love to hear."

"...Thank you." Catria raised her head as asked, and I saw how her hair and eyes were the same color blue, a deeper, more vibrant shade than mine. "And yes, your highness, it does relate to that. If I may?"

"Certainly." Marth stepped back and smiled gently at her. I thought her eyes widened slightly, and a faint blush appeared on her face, and I barely managed to keep from facepalming. My silly prince was more of a lady killer than I thought, apparently. "What is it?"

"It is simple." Her eyes became serious again. "My lady wishes dearly to fight alongside you. Moreover, she is willing to bring her entire order of the Whitewings, though we are separated since Michalis rightly guesses our wavering loyalty to him. But, there are…"

"Extenuating circumstances."

"Yes." She bowed her head again. "In order to secure Princess Minerva's cooperation, Princess Maria, her younger sister, was taken hostage, at King Michalis's own suggestion. While she is in enemy hands, my lady simply cannot..."

"Please, once more, raise your head. There truly is no reason to beg." Marth kept the gentle smile as Catria hesitantly lifted her head once more. "Your message is that Princess Minerva wishes our assistance in rescuing her younger sister."

"Yes…" She bowed her head _again_. "I know you said there is no reason to beg, but this is… I cannot stand them hurting. So, even if there is no reason, I…"

"Your pegasus is worried about you." This time, Marth offered his hand to her and helped her up. "See?" He pointed to the pegasus, who pawed at the deck for some reason. "Please, Dame Catria, tell Princess Minerva that we will do what we can to assist."

"Truly?!" Catria's face lit up with a smile, and this time, I was sure she was blushing. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" She bowed deeply to him. "I'll let my lady know right away!"

"Safe travels to you." Marth smiled and waved her goodbye as she leapt onto her pegasus, almost actually _leaving_ her lance behind. Abel barely managed to pass it back to her before she took off, a small trail of feathers trailing in her wake.

"Is it wise to trust her?" Hardin asked softly, leaning on the edge of the ship, watching her leave. Despite the words, he actually didn't look angry, or even exasperated. Many others in the crowd didn't share the good 'humor'. "She seems sincere, but… taking a princess hostage?"

"They did it for the Grustian twins," Diana revealed casually. She shrugged as everyone looked at her, practically ignoring them as she fussed over Nyna's shawl. Apparently, it was far more important than dropping that little bit of knowledge. "I've known for a bit, yes, but there was nothing to be done. Sadly, I've no information on _where_ they're being held, only that Garf took him." She shrugged again, this time ignoring everyone's attempts to figure out who she was talking about. "Besides, Hardin, I mentioned it earlier. The cleric?"

"Ah, that's right. You told me there was a cleric hostage in Deil."

"I did, though I certainly didn't make the connection."

"Princess Maria follows the path of a healer," Lena added quickly. Her face went red and hesitant as she became the sole attention of the army now. "I… actually taught her the basics, before I… ran. It's complicated. But she _is_ a cleric, technically."

"The point is that this isn't the first time we've heard about it," Diana continued, taking the attention from Lena. Since Lena looked so damn relieved at that, I wondered if Diana had done it on purpose. "I'd say it's pretty probable. We _also_ have people among the army who know Deil well." She pointed to Nyna and Jeorge. "Deil is one of the Great Houses. These two spent large chunks of their childhood there. In fact, Jeorge here spent large chunks of his _adult_ life there, since he used to date Midia."

"I find it fascinating you have such a detailed list of my love life," Jeorge instantly teased, grinning. "Why is that?"

"I had to listen to Astram bitch about it. Something about how he hoped you could find your 'true love' or whatever sappy nonsense he gets into, before going on about all of Midia's perfections. I try to tune him out when he's like that, but some things filter in no matter what."

"That does sound like him, yes." Jeorge shrugged. "Regardless, she's right. Princess Nyna and I do have knowledge of the terrain, and I know some of the secret paths inside. They were perfect for winning hide and seek as children. Securing Deil would also provide us with a good foothold to reach the palace."

"Plus, Hardin, you and I are acquainted with Princess Minerva," Diana pointed out. She smiled slightly. "That's why you're not protesting. You're simply wondering, because someone needs to."

"You clearly have been around me too long," Hardin 'complained'. He shrugged and looked to Marth. "I worry for our chances, and if we're wrong…"

"I know it is a gamble, but I have a good feeling about it," Marth replied. He smiled sheepishly. "I should have waited to agree, though. I'm sorry."

"I don't see why you should apologize, Prince Marth," Nyna murmured. She smiled gently at him. "If there is even a chance of her being right, I would like to try as well. Children should not be dragged into wars, though war certainly doesn't care."

"So, we head for Deil. We should…"

At this point, I figured I was no longer needed. It was going to be war and tactical things, and my stomach was rolling again as I looked and saw the other ships. I was reminded of that day, and I just… wanted to go to bed.

I hated ships. I wanted to never sail again.

* * *

Author's notes: Normally, the group would sail to Pyrathi, but it's… a strange chapter. You go to the island, you fight a _manakete_ , and then Catria appears with her plea and suddenly, whoops, no one ever mentions Pyrathi and the manakete again. So, for purposes of pacing, I removed that chapter, and replaced it with an interlude. The Marth-Roger conversation is technically something from the previous chapter, but I included it here since Kris is more likely to overhear that.

Next Chapter - Princess Minerva


	19. Chapter 8) Princess Minerva

Chapter 8) Princess Minerva

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _Despite our leaders agreeing, many in the army didn't believe Dame Catria's words. They were convinced it was a ruse, a trap, and it was hard to blame them. You really had to actually see Princess Minerva, talk to her even, to believe the words, and most only got close when she was attacking. But Prince Marth personally convinced the dissenters, and so, we land and march on Deil Castle._

 _...If we can rescue her, then maybe we could rescue the Grustian twins. It certainly made me a little more hopeful, at least._

* * *

"I wonder how Midia is." Nyna's voice was quiet as we wandered to the edge of our camp, a hill that overlooked all of Castle Deil, a veritable fortress. I'd always heard it _had_ been one, during the War of Liberation. "I wish she could be here, to liberate her home," she continued to whisper, looking at the castle with sad eyes. "I hope she's okay…"

"There's been no news, and I imagine killing the sole heir, the Duchess of Deil, would cause a stir," I pointed out. I smiled reassuringly at her. "We also haven't heard much of Astram, and we both know he'd be tearing through them if something had happened."

"True." She laughed a bit, but it sounded hollow. "When I was last here, everything was peaceful. I complained about the cold. It hadn't even been that cold, but I was just irritable. Midia showed me the gardens to cheer me up." She sighed, pointing to where… the gardens must've been. "It's overgrown with weeds. I can see that from here."

"We can weed it."

"It also looks like some are dead."

"We can replant. Prettier ones. Healthier ones." I rested a hand on her shoulder. "We can make things better."

"I can only hope." She clasped her hands, like she was about to pray, but then she smiled ruefully. "I still don't know what to pray for. I'm still not even sure the gods hear me."

"Then make it defiant. I did that, once." I smiled wryly. "It seemed to have worked."

"When?"

"...It was shortly after I'd run away. I'd been injured, and thanks to the cold, I'd caught a fever." I remembered that day. It was always so vivid, as if it would always be seared into my heart. "I tripped and fell. I thought about just dying there. I thought I would." I could remember the rocks digging into my skin, the taste of the dirt and blood. "I remember thinking 'if I die, I will scream at all of you'. And, you know what? I didn't die. I was saved."

"Defiance, huh?" She laughed softly, and looked up at the sky again. "Well, gods… if we fail this, if Princess Maria is harmed, I will find some way to make you regret it, just as I will make you regret letting Medeus take my parents and home from me." Her eyes got a defiant, determined glint, and I was reminded of the day I became her bodyguard. "I will see this to the end. I will see Archanea rise to new glory, even if it's not under my rule when it happens. I will see this continent prosper, and I will not let anyone stop me." She paused and then glanced at me sheepishly. "I got… a little carried away."

"Nah, it's good. Practicing motivating speeches is good for a leader." I didn't have the heart to tease her. Not now, at least. "Anyway, though, the operation will start soon. We need to head back."

"Yes, we did." She sighed, but purposely turned away from the view. "We'll have a second War Meeting, to tell everyone. Will you attend that one? You missed the first one for… some reason?"

"I was mending some clothes, and fussing over Princess Caeda." I made a face as I remembered the dress she _had_ been wearing. It had made her look sickly! "I need to give her color lessons. She's _horrible_ at picking out colors that suit her."

"I thought she looked quite fetching in her armor."

"She does. It's everything else." I grimaced as I thought of other incidents. "Yeah, no, I'm just going to take her under my wing. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not. I adore her." Nyna giggled, perking up instantly. "So…" Both of us paused at a wyvern's cry, and looked up. From here, we could see the red hair of the wyvern rider, and the equally red armor. Princess Minerva was here. "We'll be starting very soon then." She gasped suddenly, and turned her attention back to me. "Ah, yes, I almost forgot. You know how we're sending an infiltration group to rescue Maria?"

"Yeah, I remember that." I nodded, giving her a curious look. "Jeorge suggested it."

"Might you join that group during the battle?" She looked at me pleadingly. "Princess Maria is very young. I think she's not even ten. I can think of few people who could reassure her as well as you." She smiled. "And I think Princess Minerva trusts you. She might feel better about it, if she saw you were with her. I'm sure it pains her to rely on others to save her sister."

"That… is true." I still hesitated before sighing. I didn't _like_ leaving someone else to protect Nyna, but I couldn't deny that I was worried about Princess Maria. "Oh, very well. I'll learn to refuse you one of these days."

I just hoped our princess here hadn't been moved to another castle. We were really only going to get one shot at this.

* * *

"No wonder Nyna insisted on me joining up. They were seriously only sending you three?" I sighed, shaking my head as we crept through a moldy path hidden in a side entrance, one that would take us straight to the dungeons. "Navarre alone will probably terrify her."

"Hey, I suggested you or Princess Caeda when they told me," Jeorge defended. He led us slowly and cautiously through the path. It, apparently, had always been the least used of all the secret passages in Deil, meaning it had the _least_ chance of having guards. "Prince Marth was reluctant to ask Princess Caeda, and Duke Hardin was like 'Diana won't want to leave Princess Nyna'."

"Why would he be reluctant to ask his girlfriend?" Julian asked, eyes darting around. He and I walked side by side through this mess, while Navarre, silent as always, brought up the rear. "She's capable."

"It's probably a reassurance thing. He likes seeing her for courage. Love does that."

"...I can understand that." Julian smiled slightly before looking to me. "Why wouldn't you want to leave Princess Nyna?"

"Bodyguard."

"Ogma leaves Princess Caeda sometimes."

"On _her_ orders."

"Oh."

"Must you keep chatting?" Navarre asked softly. He looked almost exasperated with us. "It's pointless nonsense."

"You're saying that because you have nothing to contribute," I teased. He scoffed and I snickered, unable to help it. "Hey, did you guys use a similar passage to sneak into the Millennium Palace?"

"...That one was cleaner."

"Oh, yeah, Ricard was telling me about that," Julian murmured. He grinned. "Then that Camus guy hired him and me to fetch some shield thing. Don't know what that was. Looks like that Fire Emblem thing Prince Marth carries, though."

"That's because it _was_ the Fire Emblem," I explained. His jaw actually dropped. "Congratulations. You can honestly tell people you stole one of Archanea's greatest treasures from it's own vault."

"Holy shit." Julian then grimaced. "Which… I might have actually just stepped in. Dare I look down?"

"Don't," Navarre actually answered. He definitely looked exasperated now. "Then you'll ramble about it."

"Alright, quiet down, everyone," Jeorge called back. He looked deadly serious. "We're at the door." He pressed against the wall, and it slowly pushed in, revealing it to be a hidden door. "Step lightly."

Slowly, we walked through the door, tense with our hands hovering over our weapons. However, there wasn't signs of anyone, living or dead. It was just… a dank, dirty, and all together horrible set of dungeons.

"I doubt she is, but if Princess Maria's _actually_ in these dungeons, I'm going to gut whoever was responsible for that stupid decision," I muttered. I wrinkled my nose at all the mold. It was _everywhere_. "Gods, she could get horrifically sick…"

"And here I thought you'd be more worried about her clothes getting stained," Jeorge murmured. He winced when I swatted his shoulder. "Not a priority right now?"

"One more word, and I swear, I'm destroying that scarf."

"Please don't." He sighed. "Okay. The stairs up should be over here. I also think they'd keep their hostage here. I think she'll be in one of the guest rooms, located in the center of the place. They're pretty comfortable, and if she died, they'd lose Princess Minerva."

"Assuming they don't simply hold the corpse hostage, pretending she's still alive."

"Or they could be horribly morbid and ruthless, yes, in which case, they all die. Win-win for us at this point, really." A slight calculating light flitted through his eyes, before he shrugged. "Up we go."

We moved quietly, twitching at every bit of noise. It got worse when we headed up the stairs and could hear the sound of fighting echoing down the halls. The others had begun their assault, meaning we now had a very limited time to find Princess Maria. They'd kill her, or use her as a shield, if we took too long, after all.

Jeorge led us through the halls, skirting the more heavily guarded areas. We had to ambush a few, of course, but they fell quickly and quietly enough. Navarre was _particularly_ good at that, thankfully, so before long, we made it to the inner guest corridor and started checking the doors. Most were unlocked, but there was one, just one, that was suspiciously _locked_. Julian took point and after seconds that felt like hours, he got the door unlocked, and we all peered inside. No one was in the room, though. A second look, however, showed that someone had been in the room, and very recently too. Discarded dolls, messy bed… some half-eaten food on plates…

But no one we could see.

"Think they absconded with her already?" Julian asked. He walked in slowly, frowning. "Damn where could she-"

There was a little blur of movement, and a yelp of pain. Julian hit the floor, groaning and clutching the side of his head. A tiny little girl with Macedonian red hair and a staff stepped into view, glaring defiantly despite how much she trembled.

I could only really stare as I pieced it all together. Princess Maria had hidden herself from view upon hearing the door open, and then she'd jumped out and whacked Julian upside the head with her staff. She was _definitely_ Macedonian, and definitely Princess Minerva's sister. That fire was clearly a family trait.

"Well, hello, there," I greeted, making sure to smile. Her only response was to glare. "My name is Diana. The one with the bad scarf is Jeorge, the glowering one is Navarre, and the one you rather rudely hit is named Julian." She remained silent. "We're rescuing you at Princess Minerva's request."

"...Minerva?" she finally whispered. Her glare softened slightly. "You're… not with Dolhr?"

"No, can't you tell by how pretty we all are?" My smile widened as she giggled. I glanced over to make sure someone was making sure Julian was alright (Jeorge), and then returned my focus to her. "I'm Princess Nyna's bodyguard, Jeorge is an Archanean knight, and Navarre and Julian are mercenaries employed by Prince Marth and Princess Caeda."

"Really?" Her glare disappeared entirely and she walked over to me, eyes filled with trust. "Then, you're… really here to get me out of here?"

"Yes, we are."

"Will it be okay, though?" Princess Maria looked up at me worriedly. "Michalis said that I needed to become a hostage to show Dolhr that we were committed to the alliance. He said it was the best way to keep our people safe, and that Minerva could fight more easily if I was safe here." She tugged the hem of my shirt, now looking pleading. "So, will it be okay if I leave? I hate it here, but I want to help Macedon for Michalis, and..."

"...Yes, it'll be fine." I crouched down and hugged her as I realized just what had happened. Micky has _given_ Dolhr Princess Maria, to keep Princess Minerva in check. So she'd been alone, for so long, believing she was helping her country and her brother, but was really just...

Family using family… some things were constant about nobility, no matter…

"It'll be fine," I repeated, making my voice as firm as possible. She felt so small in my arms, and she shook, scared, but she leaned into me. How long had it been, since she'd gotten a hug? "Let's get you to your sister." I let go of her and gently nudged her out the door. She hesitated at the threshold, but she took a deep breath, nodded once, and took a deliberate step outside. She paused, as if expecting something, and then tentatively took a few more. Then, she smiled shyly, and turned to Julian, holding up her staff sheepishly.

I watched Julian crouch down and let her tend to the knot on his head, before I noticed something. Jeorge had stepped into the room, picking up a few things like clothes to tuck into his pack for her. But each movement was crisp, almost jerky, and that worried me. So, I stepped close and waited for an acknowledgement.

He glanced at me briefly, and sighed heavily. "Isn't this where you make some sort of witty callback to when I saw you wringing rags like necks?" he asked, half-smiling. I simply shrugged, and waited. "It's nothing much. Just what she said, what her brother did, sounds like _my_ family." He glowered at the ceiling, tenser than his bowstring. "I can see my old man pulling that on my aunt. If, you know, they both weren't dead."

"...You okay?" I asked. Awkwardly, I rested a hand on his shoulder. "Do you need…?"

"Sure you should be leaving me with such an open ended question?" He tried to grin, but it looked stretched and strained, so he let it fall. "I'll be fine. I just have always hated my family. Not good for anything but intrigue. I get sour when reminded."

"I can understand that." I could understand _that_ all too well. "We do need to escape, but…" I hesitated before sighing. "I'll probably regret this, but when we get out of here, why don't you and I have tea, just the two of us?"

"A date?" This time when he grinned, it looked real. "My, my. You certainly know how to motivate me." The grin fell as he jerked his head towards the door. "Something's wrong."

"Of course." I had a good idea what, but I still sighed when I stepped out and saw the two enemy soldiers on the floor. Navarre's sword was bloody, and Julian had Princess Maria's face turned away. "Time to go."

I made to pick up Princess Maria, but she shook her head and we didn't have time to argue, so I took her hand instead and helped her run with us, down the hall. Well, for us, it was more of a brisk walk. She wasn't very fast, and she simply couldn't run long. Her face would turn red, and her breath would become ragged enough to sincerely make me wonder if she was hyperventilating. She hadn't been allowed to run and play, so her stamina was low. Still, she had more than enough determination, and even when we paused to let her breath, she tugged me forward, insistent that we keep on going. But even that determination waned before long, since she struggled so much. We had to actually stop in front of stairs to the dungeon because she began coughing.

"Over there!" We all whirled as people in heavy armor started running down the hall for us. Princess Maria had only just recovered from her coughing fit. "Capture them!"

"Go," Navarre whispered. He nudged Jeorge and me towards the stairs. "Take her and go." He smiled slightly at my incredulous look. "The girl is clinging to your hand, and he's the only one who knows the path. The thief is the only backup I'll need for weaklings like this."

"...If you end up dying, I'll laugh at your grave," I informed him seriously. Then I tightened my grip on Princess Maria's hand and headed down the stairs. Jeorge followed, slipping past me to take lead. "And Julian, if you get hurt, you'll make Lena cry! So stay alive!"

We took the stairs two at a time. Princess Maria tripped at the bottom, and I bent down to just pick her up. This time, she didn't protest, and just clung to me tightly as we continued to run through the molded dungeons and through the dank path that would take us out of her. She was much lighter than I would've thought, and I tightened my hold on her, determined to not let her fall.

I nearly gasped as we made it outside, bright sunlight stabbing my eyes and making them water. Princess Maria whimpered, curling into me. Jeorge was completely unaffected, though, and he fired two arrows in quick succession before using some sort of trick with his firestarter to set a third arrow on fire without having an open flame, some trick used by the knights. Two normal and one fire, our arranged signal that we had succeeded, a common one about the Arcanean knights. Assuming they'd been paying attention, they would know that things were clear.

But it seemed that someone else had also been watching for a signal.

"A moment, please." Wind blasted the three of us as a wyvern swooped down and landed in front of us. Jeorge moved protectively and I shifted Princess Maria to try and reach my sword. But I paused, and simply nudged Jeorge instead when I realized just who was here. "Is that Maria?" Princess Minerva asked softly. She smiled as Princess Maria hesitantly lifted her head, and she laughed as Princess Maria squeaked and beamed, wriggling to free up one of her hands and wave. "You did it. You actually did it."

"We'll get her back to camp," I reassured her, smiling back. She was right. We _did_ do it. "It's my job to keep princesses safe, after all."

"So it is." Her smile grew. "I'll inform Prince Marth, and cover your escape. Thank you, both of you." She took off then, with her eyes shining and a determined glare. As she flew off, dozens of pegasus knights fell in with her, all knights who would defect to join us.

Well, things got interesting.

* * *

"You shouldn't move so much," I chided, reaching down to tap Princess Maria's shoulder. She sulked, using the mirror on the vanity to make sure I could see it. "Your hair is quite tangled." I sighed, reaching for my bowl of water to flick a bit more water on the tangles. If they weren't brushed out now, we'd have to cut them out. "Those soldiers sucked at taking care of little girls."

"Is it normal for her to fuss like this?" Princess Minerva asked Nyna, smiling slightly as she watched me brush Princess Maria's hair, and generally try to fix her appearance. "It seems so strange, considering how she fights."

"The soldiers have taken to describing her as 'mother and murder'," Nyna laughed, sipping her tea. She'd invited Princess Minerva for some evening tea in the rooms given to her at Castle Deil. We were going to stay and recuperate here for a few days before pressing forward to Knorda, and the castle. "It's spread quite a bit." I groaned at the reminder, already tired of the description. "Diana doesn't like how overused it is." Nyna stood, refilling Princess Minerva's cup. "So, Princess Minerva-"

"Minerva, please, Princess Nyna." She glanced at me. "That goes for you as well, Dame Diana. I'm more of a general than a princess anyway." She smiled slightly, but it faded quickly. "Now, Maria-"

"I'm helping the army!" Princess Maria insisted. She pouted. "No protesting! I wish to help!"

"What am I going to do with you?" Pri… Minerva sighed. "Why must you share my stubbornness? Real war is nothing like your stories of princes and damsels."

"No protesting! I'm not being locked away again. And I'm tired of being helpless!" She sniffed, eyes filling with tears. "S-so…"

"Ah, please don't cry!" Minerva got to her feet and came over to Princess Maria, dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve. "You can stay here. Just… be careful. Don't overwork yourself. If you need help, ask immediately."

"Okay…" Princess Maria sniffed again, but she smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Minerva…"

"I'm bad at disciplining you." Minerva sighed, and went back to her chair. "I'm sorry about this, Princess Nyna."

"No, no, it's fine," Nyna reassured. She smiled warmly. "I don't have siblings. Diana's the closest I've got, and I'm the younger one in that scenario."

"That's right; you're an only child," Minvera murmured. She smiled slightly. "I'm the middle child. I got both kinds of interactions. Duke Hardin is the younger brother, and Prince Marth has an older sister, yes?"

"Yes, he does, and Princess Caeda is an only child."

"I'm amazed that there are non-Macedonians who ride pegasi. It's impressive."

"It is, isn't it?"

"But far more impressive is how dashing Prince Marth is!" Princess Maria laughed, all traces of tears gone save for the redness in her eyes. Nyna and I exchanged a worried look over her head, though. "Does he have a girlfriend?"

"From what I hear, Maria, Prince Marth is courting Princess Caeda," Minerva instantly replied. Princess Maria sighed gustily. "It would be best not to interfere."

"What about helping them?"

"Well, we can work through that."

"Yay~!" Princess Maria giggled, but then suddenly yawned. "Oh…" She yawned a few more times, and then curled up in the chair. "Zzzz…"

"Today must've exhausted her," I murmured. I picked her up from the chair and moved her to the bed, tucking her in. "So, if you two want to talk serious matters, now's a good time."

"Is she alright, though?" Nyna asked. She frowned worriedly. "I mean… she just…"

"She's always done that," Minerva reassured. She didn't look quite as worried. "I wouldn't mind her getting checked over, later, but this doesn't startle me."

"If you say so…" Nyna still looked unsure, and so I sat on the bed by Princess Maria, keeping an eye on her. Nyna smiled in silent thanks. "Well, serious matters…"

"Everything about this war is 'serious'." Minerva sighed. "The whole world has gone mad…"

"Perhaps it might not have gone quite as mad if my father actually honored his promises." Nyna gave Minerva a mournful look. "I know he didn't help Macedon. I learned that, during my… imprisonment." She bowed her head. "I am… so sorry for him…"

"Not all good people are good rulers. He was clearly a good father, though." Minerva waved off the apology. "Truth be told, though, Princess Nyna, your father's only crime was… negligence. The lower nobles of Archanea would interfere with our lives constantly, and no matter how many times we asked for assistance, we were ignored." She sipped her tea calmly, as if she was just… reciting from a book. "We had no freedom, it felt, and we were… annoyed. Our country had been founded by former slaves. Iote fought and freed himself. It bothered us that we were being treated as slaves again."

"...I imagine it more than 'bothered' many."

"It did. But I fear I do not have the words for that intense anxiety, that horrible feeling of frustration." Her voice was so even, though. It was something she had long accepted. "Of course, as I got older, I found myself used to it. Where there is power, there is corruption. I saw it within my own people, so it didn't surprise me to see it elsewhere. So, I calmed. But Michalis grew angrier and angrier. His ambitions grew, and it bothered him that Macedon was not more prosperous. Archanea's quite… enslavement… angered him further, and fed into everything. Then the rumors came…"

"Rumors?"

"...Rumors that my father planned to remove him from succession." Minerva set her teacup down and clasped her hands in her lap. "In Macedon, you only remove the heir… if you are planning to execute them. Our father was a loyal man, a kind father, but he _was_ conniving enough to fake something. Perhaps he wouldn't have even had to _fake_ anything." Minerva sighed. "I heard about the rumors and took them to Michalis, wondering what was going on. He had no idea either, and went off to confront our father. He told me not to follow, and I didn't. Then, a few days later, our father was dead, by an 'Archanean' assassin."

"A… what?" Nyna let her perfect stoic mask fall for shock. "I… that's not…"

"Forgive me, but I knew it was nonsense because your father never cared enough, and someone who could kill a Macedonian king in his own bedroom would've been too expensive for a lesser noble to buy." She leaned back in her chair, and looked up at the ceiling. "With that as justification, Michalis declared that Macedon would side with Dolhr."

"And the people… accepted that?"

"People look to Michalis as the second coming of Iote, and everyone chafed under Archanea's…" She paused, struggling for a word, before shrugging, giving up. "We were the frontline, yet no one came to help. We fell, broken and bloody, and no one picked us up. Macedon would've been like Archanea if Michalis hadn't sided with Dolhr. He, with his pride, with his ambitions, couldn't abide that. Macedon was to be the strongest, even if it meant pretending to grovel while plotting how best to hamstring the leg."

"I see." Nyna looked saddened. "I wonder if I can reason with him-"

"No." Minerva shook her head. "No, not at this point. At this point…" She sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. Her eyes unfocused, and I wondered what she was actually seeing. "At this point, Michalis and I… we will fight. We will fight each other, and then…" She glanced at Maria, curled up asleep. "Well, Maria will only have one sibling after that."

"Minerva…"

"It's fine. I've made my resolution. He and I walk separate paths now." Minerva sighed once more and settled back in her chair, sipping the now cold tea. "This is a good blend. Citrus?"

"...Yes, it's something I got from Port Warren." Nyna gradually turned the conversation to lighter things, and I kept watch over all three of them.

I wondered if Minerva could keep her resolve when she actually fought her brother. Maybe she could. But I wondered anyway.

* * *

Jeorge took me up on my offer for tea after he finished his patrol. I left Nyna with Princess Caeda, and the two of us went up onto the roof, with me carrying some mugs of tea I'd made in the kitchens.

"Sorry it's not alcohol," I joked, passing him one. The two of us stretched out on the roof, with the stars overhead. "I can't handle that."

"I've heard many stories of how much of a lightweight you are," Jeorge teased right back. He smiled as he sipped the tea. "Ah, chamomile… what's this other bit?"

"Orange blossoms. It's pretty common in Aurelis."

"Really?"

"Yes?" I frowned. "Did you think I would lie about this?"

"Charles used to make up outrageous things to see if we'd believe them. Funnily enough, Astram is the one who tended to fall for them."

"Once he gets an idea in his head, it takes forever for him to calm down enough to make him listen." I giggled, unable to help it. "That does sound like Charles, though."

"He was always pulling tricks. I tended to play along, while Astram was fooled." He laughed too, but it was a much sadder sound than mine. "Those days were fun. We'd fight off bandits, then lounge and chat."

"Midia would cautiously step into the conversations, right? I'd watch her. She always looked so hesitant."

"She didn't want to seem like a clingy girlfriend, but she also didn't want to be excluded. Typically, Charles and I would just start teasing the hell out of her and Astram. I did that even when we were dating, actually." He snickered. "Astram did his best to not be obvious, but I could always see. And I could always see how her eyes were drawn to him."

"Did it bother you?"

"Not really. Midia and I were both pretty certain that our relationship wouldn't really last long. It was more of a 'try and see because our families are bothering the hell out of us'." He shrugged. "Besides, I was easily the warier of us too. She was very romantic, while I was more cautious, pragmatic. I was very much aware that our families just wanted to use the both of us." He smiled slightly. "You know the story of how they got together?"

"You pushed them in a lake, told them to stop being damned noble-minded, and just confess, all while laughing to reassure them that you were actually happy about the idea. Charles told me. He's the one who got Astram there."

"Yep. And, after some more yelling and laughing, they became lovers that day. Our families were livid, but…" He shrugged. "Of course, now I'm single, oh woe is me."

"Oh please. If you were really wanting company, you could just smile at a maid and she'd jump your bones." I frowned as he rolled his eye and muttered something I couldn't quite catch. "What was that?"

"It's nothing important." He smiled innocently when I scowled. "Now, then, what were we talking about?"

"You were reminiscing."

"That's right." He looked curiously at me. "You never did jump into those conversations, even when we invited you."

"I was content in seeing you guys having fun." I shrugged, not really sure how to explain it.

"...You didn't want to feel like Charles was 'making room' for you." Jeorge, of course, saw right to the core of it, damn him. "He mentioned he worried about that. You always looked like you were trying to find a place you could belong, while staying close to him."

"..." I wished I could deny it. But I couldn't. Regardless of how much I'd loved the Wolf Pack, I had always felt out of place. I'd never quite felt 'right'. "Well, it was the place that kept me safe when my previous one had betrayed me." My voice softened with each word, and I gulped my cooling tea to try and hide it. "I know about family using family. My parents tried to sell me to settle a debt."

"Ah, one of those." He gave me a sympathetic smile. He could put pieces together from there, since he _had_ to know how young I was. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." I shook my head and looked out over everything. From here, we didn't really have a good view of anything but other parts of the castle, but it was still quite a sight. "Well, Midia can go home, when all of this is over."

"Very true." He accepted the change in subject easily. "Midia should be happy about that."

"Do you want to reclaim your home castle?"

"That near impossible place to reach in the mountains?" Jeorge scoffed and knocked back his own tea, like it was a shot. "No thanks. If our enemy has it, they can hold onto it until we have more than one aerial unit. Assuming they decided it was worth it. It's out of the way, after all, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the servants still hold it. It's easy to defend."

"As can be expected for your house."

"Calculating bastards, every last one of them. Well, not my sister, but she committed suicide because of our father's manipulations." He got a thoughtful look on his face. "The anniversary is coming up, now that I think about it."

"How long has it been?"

"Now? Three years. Archanea fell shortly after the first anniversary." He looked up at the stars, studying them closely. "She used to always tell me how the dead would look upon the world through stars, as a means of comforting me after Mother passed. I wonder which one she is."

"Mmm…" I knew that story. It was a pretty common in Archanea. They had numerous ones that tied the stars to the dead. "I bet… that one." I pointed to a particularly bright one nearby. "See? Its trying to catch your attention."

"...Maybe so." He smiled slowly, and it was a soft, bittersweet smile. "Well, hey there, sis. I miss you, but you're free, so I'm sure you're happy." His eyes sharpened, and he nudged me, pointing to another bright one. "I bet that's Charles. He was always fretting over you."

"Maybe…" Still, I smiled, and the two of us continued to simply stargaze until someone called that the 'second watch' was over. "We should head in."

"Yeah." He stretched a bit, and stood up slowly. "I must say; I quite enjoyed this evening." He smiled as he held out his hand. Rolling my eyes, I let him help me up, but he didn't let go of my hand. "I enjoyed it quite a bit." Then, watching me the whole time, he gently kissed my hand, and his smile grew as I gave him an incredulous look. "I'll take the mugs to the kitchen. I'm sure Princess Nyna is missing you." Without waiting for a reply, he did just that, whistling a happy little tune. It was only after he disappeared down the stairs that I brought my hand up, and touched the spot he'd kissed.

My hand… felt strangely warm from it, and I wasn't sure I liked what that hinted to.

* * *

 _Notes on Hardin:_

 _The 27 year old Prince of Aurelis, heir to the throne._

 _Lovingly called 'the Coyote' by the people of the Lea, who look up and admire him for ending their enslavement. The people of Aurelis also seem to look to them as their hope._

 _Despite this, seems rather content in not being the figurehead. Jealous a bit, but that seems more because of his hidden feelings for Nyna, and not because he wants the fame._

 _A skilled warrior, he specializes in both swords and lances._

 _Notes on Wolf:_

 _A 20 year old knight of Aurelis_

 _Specializes in mounted archery, a signature style for those from the Lea._

 _Though he seems stoic, he's actually hotheaded and passionate. Because he was subjected to some of the worst of slavery, due to his pretty face, he is almost fanatically loyal to Hardin._

 _Notes on Sedgar:_

 _A 21 year old knight of Aurelis_

 _Specializes in mounted archery, a signature style for those from the Lea_

 _The one normally in charge of reining in Wolf's temper, and who quietly takes care of everyone. Since he'd been thrown into fighting pits, he's very good at maintaining armor and weapons._

 _Notes on Vyland:_

 _A 18 year old knight of Aurelis_

 _Specializes in the same fighting style as Hardin_

 _Seems close to Roshea, since the two have known each other since they were children, and trusts his judgement over his own._

 _Notes on Roshea:_

 _A 15 year old knight of Aurelis_

 _Specializes in the same fighting style as Hardin_

 _A former slave, but perhaps because he was so young and sheltered from the worst of it, he is not as blindingly loyal to Hardin as the other four_

* * *

Author's Notes: Now we have Minerva, who actually started her own Archetype of sympathetic wyvern riders who defect to your side (an example of the Archetype is Miredy, from FE6), and Maria, who… might have her own Archetype, actually? Not so certain on that one.

A lot of what Minerva talks about comes from the manga, but I cannot remember where I read about the rumors that her dad was going to remove Michalis from the throne (and, by their laws, basically execute him). I certainly can't find it again, so it might've been a fanfiction or something. Maria hitting Julian in the head with her staff upon being rescued also comes from the manga.

Next Chapter - Knorda Market


	20. Chapter 9) Knorda Market

Chapter 9) Knorda Market

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _There's been a lot of battles, but at last, we're in Archanea. Even better, we're almost at the palace itself. Past the mountains is the Millenium Palace of Archanea, the center of the continent. If we get it, then we can begin liberating the other countries, including Altea._

 _This battle will be one of the defining points of the war. We can't afford to mess this up._

* * *

I'd never quite understood the expression 'the tension in the air was thick enough to cut' until today. I'd always wondered why you'd even _want_ to cut some 'tension', but today's little 'war meeting' had enough tension that I was tempted to steal Marth's rapier and poke at it.

"So, based on this map, we have to go around the mountains to reach the palace," Marth murmured. He traced the path on the map on the table, and all five of us grimaced as we noticed there was only really _one_ path through. Nyna and Hardin were here, as always, as was Diana. Wolf had gone scouting instead, to see if there was, by some miracle, another path through. "Damn, this…"

"It's better to expect ambushes, and a heavy defense," Hardin whispered. He tapped a couple of points where we'd likely get caught up. "If they hold here, they stop us."

"We do have aerial forces now, thanks to Princess Minerva." Princess Minerva had been invited, but she'd opted to get a better eye on the terrain instead. "They won't have that."

"But there will be archers. Most of our aerial forces are pegasus knights."

"Well, look on the bright side, everyone," Diana suggested lightly. She was, as always, perched on the arm of Nyna's chair, though her injuries had long since been healed. I wondered if it was so that she and Nyna could gossip more quietly. "You won't have to deal with Camus here."

"Thank the gods for that one," Marth sighed. "Thank the gods for that."

He continued about something, but something odd had caught my attention, something no one else seemed to notice. Diana actually used titles for most people in the army. There were some exceptions, of course. She tended to call the Aurelsi soldiers by name, like Wolf, but strangely not Duke Hardin. She called Jeorge by his name, probably because they were old acquaintances, and honestly gossip was heating up about the possibility of something between them growing. She, of course, called Nyna by her name, and also called Minerva by _her_ name, but that was apparently at Minerva's direct request. But, just then, she'd called Camus by name. It could be how she didn't use titles for enemies, but with those… she used nicknames, like Medy, Micky, and the new one of 'Nefy' to replace 'Garf' for Gharnef. 'Camus' was no nickname.

So, what did it mean, that she called _Camus_ by name?

"What's over here in this area?" Marth asked, jolting me out of my musings. He was pointing to a cluster of villages just to our east, if we went over the mountains. It was actually a strange 'almost mirror' for where the palace was. "A town?"

"That is Knorda," Nyna replied. As always, she wore a mask of serenity, and kept her voice calm. "It's a bustling market town, in theory."

"In… theory?"

"In practice, it is the home to gladiator 'games' and a slave trade." She sighed, bowing her head. "One of many things my father ignored, and I have little doubt the current… holders of my home have done anything to stop it."

"Slavery?!" Marth yelped, jerking back, and Hardin actually bristled. "That's…!"

"I imagine they paid their taxes on time so my father didn't care." She glanced back up at Hardin and Marth. "I worry about it. I know we have many things to plan, but might we see if there is a way to liberate Knorda?"

"I… think so." Marth looked to Hardin, who glowered at the map. "Duke Hardin, what do you-?"

"Purge the slavers," Hardin _instantly_ hissed. The sudden vehemence made all of us jump, even Diana and Nyna. "They…" He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then slowly released it, relaxing with the breath. "I'm sorry. I fought hard to end slavery in Aurelis. I… severely dislike… the idea of it continuing, anywhere."

"Treated like an animal, or even worse," Diana murmured. Her eyes unfocused slightly, and she smiled bitterly. "Worse, actually. There's a market for pedophiles, among others."

"I didn't need to hear that part," I groaned. I knew it too, and it just made Marth squirm. "What do you know about it anyway?"

"The Knorda market is an open secret, Kris. From there, well, you see certain patterns in people, especially if you're a mercenary. Charles and I renegaded a contract once because we discovered our employer was a repeat customer. Poor kids…" She smiled slightly. "This nice bishop named Eremiya took them in, though. They should be fine."

"Ah." I shrugged, and looked to Marth. "Well, if you want infiltration, I'm your girl. Not alone. I'm not that stupid."

"But you can head a small group to head in and see what can be done," Marth replied. He gave me a warm smile. "Let's figure out the rest of your group. We'll be a nice big distraction for you and yours."

I only hoped I'd know the others in the group. This army was really far too large.

* * *

"Damn, it looks even worse than I remember," Ogma muttered as we walked through the streets of Knorda. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of trash in the gutters, and saw all the starving kids. "And my memories of this place were never fond."

"Caeda mentioned she met you here," I commented, remembering how she'd begged me to keep an eye on Ogma while we infiltrated. "She was worried, by the way."

"She 'met' me while I was being beaten for helping some other gladiators escape, and that's all I'm going to say on the matter." His voice became clipped, anger bleeding through, and it was _really_ easy to see why she'd been worried. I'd never known him to be anything but calm. "So-"

"Relax. I was _trying_ to tease you, like I used to in Talys, but it's clear that this is not a topic to be teased on. So, I'm sorry."

"...Kinda miss those days in Talys." Ogma slowly relaxed, and smiled. "You three just teasing each other, as if the peace would never end. It was nice."

"War waits for no one."

"No, sadly, it doesn't." He nodded ahead. "There are the others."

"It's about time. We're getting weird looks." I waved as Cain, Merric, and Julian raced up to join us. I'd been sour about Merric joining, but couldn't tell Marth that. Merric had also been incredibly chipper about it, which made me feel even more sour over all of it. "Did you guys find anything?"

"Sadly, all we got was a confirmation of what we already knew," Merric answered. We ducked into an alley to confer, and he bent down to feed a stray cat with some rations he'd brought. The poor thing was thin. "Poor dear."

"Don't go adopting cats," I sighed. Still, I knelt down too and fished through my pack for some bread, which I broke up and gave to it. "I'm sorry we don't have better, pretty one."

"What was that about not adopting?"

"I used to feed stray cats a lot back in Altea." I reached over to scratch it behind the ears. "So, confirmation?"

"Basically, there's gladiators and slave trades, and _someone_ in charge, but no one willing to give names," Julian explained. He crossed his arms and leaned against the building. "So…"

"So, we have two choices," Cain continued, shrugging. "One is to…" He flinched at some faint noise, and smiled bitterly when I gave him a curious look. "Nothing for us to worry about. They just have ballistas."

"You can tell that just by the sound?" Ogma asked, looking a bit impressed. I was more surprised he could pick out a single sound in the quiet mess of noise we'd could hear of the distant battle. "We're a distance away."

"I'll always remember it. Two years ago, Gra set up a couple of ballista units behind our lines. It played a large part in why we were slaughtered." Cain's eyes darkened briefly, but then he shook his head roughly. "Regardless, our two choices. We've confirmed things here, so either we retreat for more people, or take care of it ourselves."

"I think we don't _have_ a choice," I pointed out. I stood slowly, giving the cat one more scratch behind the ear, and faced everyone. Merric petted the cat a couple more times before doing the same, and the cat scampered off into the shadows. "I'd imagine they'd move quickly to sell their slaves at this point. The gladiators _might_ be fine?"

"Not likely," Ogma muttered bitterly. He was tense again. "If they're anything like they were before, they'll _kill_ the gladiators to prevent them from ratting anyone out."

"...Then we really don't have a choice." I sighed, barely resisting the urge to growl in frustration. "We need… what? Two groups? One for the gladiators and one for the slaves?"

"We're in limited numbers and you're suggesting that we split up further?" Merric yelped. We instantly covered his mouth and darted deeper into the alleyway. "Oops…"

"Keep silent," Julian hissed. He nudged Merric's leg. "Anyway, Kris and I could deal with the slavers. Merric could be our backup, and keep our weapons."

"Why would I keep your weapons?"

"Because we're going to let them catch us, of course. Best way to get to their hideout and then we'll destroy it from the inside." Julian shrugged. "Won't be _that_ hard. The hardest part for both of us will be standing out."

"You're strangers, though?"

"We're _thieves_. We've spent our lives learning how to blend in. That's how you don't get _caught_." Julian and I shared an exasperated look. People never got how much work it took to be a _good_ thief. "Regardless, the three of us can handle that if Ogma and Cain handle the gladiators?" Julian gave them a curious look. Cain looked indifferent; Ogma looked tensed. "Though, Ogma, you and I can switch if you-"

"I'll be thrown to the gladiators anyway," Ogma interrupted. His sad, bitter smile made me wonder if that was how he'd ended up in the arena in the first place. "I doubt they've blocked all the hidden paths. Cain and I can handle it."

"Then let's split up, and cause some chaos!" I cheered, giving them my best grin. They all smiled back, but they also looked ready to laugh. "Was that too peppy? I tried to emulate our silly prince."

"It actually worked a little too well." Ogma laughed as I sulked, finally relaxing fully. "You know; it's startling how much you two look alike."

"Is it? I never noticed." I shrugged. "Whatever. Merric, here." I handed him my thunder tome. "Stay hidden." Ignoring his little yelp of protest, I waved to the others as I stepped out of the alley and headed for the nearest stand, a woman selling fruit.

"Well, you're a new face," the woman murmured. She didn't looked particularly enthused by that, not even pretending to put on a smile as she studied my face. "What will you have, dear?"

"Hmm…" I took stock of her wares, and picked the most expensive fruit she had. 'Expensive' was sure to get their attention. "I'd like an orange, please," I told her. She gave me an incredulous look, but I gave her my sweetest smile, and held up my coinpurse, shaking it so that she could hear the coins clink. "They look good."

"No thanks to the war destroying the groves," the woman muttered. She took her time selecting one for me."I'm sick of war. If it's not the screaming of battles, it's the bawling of widows." She scowled. "You should return home to your loved ones, if you ask me."

"Aw, but my home was kinda torched, and all my loved ones died." I kept my voice very light and she flinched. "Can I get my orange please? I'm hungry."

She handed me the orange quickly, and I gave her the coins, telling her to keep the change. Then, I walked off, carefully peeling it so that the peel came off in one big chunk. Julian fell in step next to me and casually took one of the slices, popping it in his mouth before handing me some _chocolate_ , expensive as all hell even without a war. With those little bits of obvious spending, it really didn't take long at all for someone to start following us. Julian and I exchanged a look and a smile as another person, a seemingly harmless old lady, walked up and started chatting with us, inviting us to her home for a 'proper dinner'.

We had them. Now we had to wait until their guard was down. That was always the boring part.

* * *

"How have these people managed to operate this long?" Julian muttered. We were crammed into a little box of a room with a bunch of other people. Most of them were sniffling, or were so resigned to their fate that they might as well be dead for all they cared. Julian and I were the only ones who really showed any sort of energy. "Did they search you more than me? They didn't even take my lockpicks."

"No, they had that old lady do that, and she just checked the pockets she could see," I replied softly. I grimaced as someone accidentally kicked me, but waved off the apology. "She didn't even check my breast-band. So, I've all my little 'gifts'."

"Why do girls always hide their most dangerous stuff there?"

"It's convenient, and no one can really reach there without there being some side-eyeing." It also helped that I actually had larger than average boobs. I could hide a lot. "Speaking of which, I'm going to shift a bit behind you to move them to my pockets."

"I'll work on getting us towards the actual door." Julian sighed, grimacing. "Gods, I wonder if any died from suffocation in these places?"

"Let's not think about that."

"Just like how we're not thinking about how your 'gifts' didn't go off?"

"Oh, that's because I bought double-vial thingies at Port Warren." I carefully maneuvered and snatched the two I'd hidden in my breast-band, and slipped them into my pockets to join the other two I had. "Why do you think I gave Merric my tome, but kept them on?"

"I figured you'd use them after meeting up."

"Nope. These ones work a little easier. I just have to throw them against a hard surface. It's not as potent, though. So, they're my _little_ 'gifts'."

"Why call them that anyway?"

"I'm bad at naming shit, okay?" I nudged him with my elbow. "We can head to the door now."

"Good, because any longer, and I'm going to start going mad from the stale air."

"You should just imagine them as a bunch of Lenas." I grinned as his face went _super_ red. "Wow, you're even easier than pretty boy."

"Sh-shut up! You're the one saying weird shit!" He muttered a few more things under his breath, each more unflattering than the last, as he carefully pushed our way towards the door.

Once there, he checked the door slowly, carefully figuring out the locking mechanism for it. It was slow, and reminded me on why I'd always avoided picking locks, but I knew how important it was to be extra careful, especially now. Besides, Julian knew what he was doing. It only took him one lockpick to unlock the door.

The dull 'thunk' of the lock, followed by the quiet 'creak' of the door opening silenced everyone in the room. Julian and I stepped outside and stood slowly, stretching as our muscles complained at the movement. I recovered faster, though, so I turned to the others and smiled. "Hey, everyone," I greeted, keeping my voice quiet. "We're part of the Altean Army. If you're up for running, we'll get you out. But you have to listen to us, and keep orderly and quiet, okay?" There were a few hesitant nods. "Come on then." I stepped to the side, exchanging a look with Julian. He nodded, and moved ahead, understanding that he'd take point, while I'd take the rear.

There were a lot of people, though. I worried we wouldn't actually be able to get them out, since they were hobbling so much, and I also wondered just _where_ all these people even came from. I decided both didn't matter. Julian and I would do what we could.

We moved through the little hideout cautiously, making more noise than I would've liked, but less than I would've expected for a bunch of people not used to being stealthy. No one wanted to get caught. Of course, we inevitably _did_ , simply because we were a large group, but that was honestly where my little gifts came in.

"Kris!" Julian's shout echoed back, and I pulled the little gifts from my pockets and threw two at the walls. They shattered, generating a thin cloud of smoke. "Everyone, keep with me!" Julian continued shouting. "Kris?"

"I got it!" I called back, ducking down another hall and throwing a third of my little gifts. Ideally, the slavers would follow the smoke. The loud thunder of footsteps that followed me as I ran hinted I'd at least gotten most of them. At another intersection, I threw my last little gift and picked a direction at random to bolt, pausing only long enough to find and open a window to let the smoke trickle up.

In retrospect, Julian and I probably should've sat down a little longer with Merric and actually, you know, worked out a signal, but hopefully, Merric could figure out something. He was smart, right? Smoke generally meant something was going on, and the only 'something' would be us. But, then again, Julian and I got a little too into the idea of infiltrating. At least, I did.

...Of course, maybe this was just… me desperately trying to prove I could still be useful...

"Kris!" Merric's voice echoed through the hall, and I glanced around to see him at one of the windows. "Over here!" he called, waving. I jumped for the window, swinging myself out it easily, and almost kicking Merric in the face by accident. "Whoa!" He, thankfully, managed to leap back in time. "Ugh… I'm not cut out for this sort of craziness!" He handed me my thunder tome with a little sulk. "You're lucky that the wind sylphs thought we were hilarious and gladly told me what was going on!"

"Yeah, I already figured out that we went a little fast, and I'll apologize later," I replied. Both of us jumped at the sound of wood splintering, and we whirled to see that… we had a whole bunch of armed people running for us. "Time to leave."

"Where's Julian?"

"Hopefully, he's in a better situation than us right now!" I snatched his hand and took off down a path. "Ugh, we need a way up!"

"Why do we want to go up?"

"No one thinks to look up!" I darted around random corners, hoping to lose them. Sadly, though, it was never for long enough. "Ugh, why did I use all of my 'gifts' already? I should've brought more."

"How do you make them anyway? That requires amazing chemistry knowledge, and you're self-taught, yes?"

"Now is not the time!" Something suddenly fell near us, right by my face even, making Merric yelp and me stiffen, and we jerked our heads up to see an empty flower pot had crashed… but above us was a perfectly viable path to the roof. I started climbing immediately, and Merric followed suit clumsily. But I reached back and dragged him onto the roof moments before the slavers raced past. Both of us threw our spells down, thunder and wind blending together in a rather explosive combination, and let their panic do the rest of the work as we crawled away, careful not to make too much noise.

When we made it to the other edge of the roof, and I glanced around looking for a path down, I paused as I noticed something. There, right at a good starting point for a climb down, was a thing cat that looked _remarkably_ like the one Merric and I fed before. It meowed once, trotted over to rub its face against ours with a loud purr, and leapt away, crossing to the other roofs with ease and disappearing from sight. Both Merric and I simply stared, not quite sure what happened.

"You ever hear about the tale with the slave and the lion?" Merric asked after a moment. "I heard it when I was little, but I don't know how common it is."

"You mean the one where the guy helped a lion, and the lion helped him much later?" I asked, thinking slowly. Grandfather had read me that one. "Yeah, I always thought it bullshit."

"Do you now?"

"I have _no_ idea." I moved to the edge, though, and started climbing down. "Come on. We need to meet up with the others."

"Uh…" Merric looked over tentatively. "It's now a good time to mention I'm worse at climbing down than I am at climbing up?"

"You _could_ just stay on the roof until we have a flier free, but that could be a few hours." I hit the ground and looked up at him. "Your choice."

"Ugh…" He sighed, and hesitantly began trying to follow me down. "I'm not fit enough for this."

"Breath used for complaining can be used for climbing, you know."

"You say that like it's eas-WAH!" Merric slipped, but it had been so unexpected, and the distance was so short, that he actually ended up falling on top of me. "Ow…"

"That's my remark!" Everything hurt now. His elbows were digging into my ribs, and his hard head hit me square in the chest. "You're heavy! Get off!"

"Is everything okay?!" Someone swung into the alley. "I heard…" Whoever it was trailed off, and I looked towards the entrance to see it was Cain. "I… uh… see you're busy," he murmured. His expression was stony, for some reason. "I'll just…"

"No, get him off of me," I snapped, bristling. I couldn't believe he was just going to _leave_ us like this! "He's heavy!"

"What did I even land on?" Merric mumbled. He sounded fazed. "Something soft?"

"You landed on me, unless you're talking specifically about your head, because _that_ landed on my boobs and believe me when I say that freaking hurts, so get off!"

"Huh? ACK!" Merric jumped off, face bright red. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean…!"

"Ugh, this wouldn't have happened if you'd paid more attention to your climbing and less on complaining!" I pushed myself up, brushed the dirt off, and rounded on Cain, who now looked confused. "And you were just going to leave?! I can't believe you!"

"I… well…" Cain began. His eyes darted all over the place, not looking at me. "It looked like…"

"Ugh, don't even try!" I snapped. I threw my hands up and stormed past him, heading for the loudest part of town. "You and Ogma better have done your part!"

"We did. The gladiators jumped at the chance to turn on their captors." Cain fell in step next to me, despite my attempts to get away. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm bruised from someone falling on me!" I glared up at him, and he flinched. "Ugh! Both of you aren't allowed to talk to me for the rest of the day!"

"I-"

"I'm not listening!" We made it to the crowd and last, and I ducked into it, losing Cain easily. I was just so… I couldn't even begin to describe how angry I was. I wasn't even sure _why_ I was so angry! I just _was_!

"Excuse me?" A tiny hand snagged my sleeve, and I almost told them to get lost because I was just mad at everything. But I paused when I realized I was looking at a tentative young kid, a year or two younger than me in fact. "Um… I need to retrieve something important from the hideout," they explained. "Do you mind coming with me?"

"Yeah, sure," I replied, shrugging. I saw no reason not to, and I had my tome if things went wrong. "You might need to lead the way, though. I've no clue where I even am."

"We're not far. We met the former gladiators right at the door, and let them take care of the slavers." They tugged me after them, navigating the crowd easily. I noticed how ragged their clothes were, and how they wore a turban much like Hardin. I thought _that_ strange since… well, Hardin was the only one I'd seen wear that. "That Ogma guy said I could only come back, though, if one of your group came with me."

"Well, there could still be more." I let them drag me, noticing their hand was actually trembling a little. "You okay?"

"Fine. Mostly. I'm worried they sold my things already." They entered the building, and I saw how they didn't hesitate much when picking a path. "Biggest room. I saw them taking everything to this room."

"So, you want your things?" My eyes widened when we stepped into the 'biggest room' and saw _all the shit that was here_. "Are some of these piles touching the ceiling?"

"Oh, there's way more than I thought." They sighed, drooping. They perked up quickly, though. "But, it's boxes! Maybe they kept it together?"

"How long has it been since you were captured?"

"It hasn't been long. A day, maybe?"

"In that case…" I looked around and found the smallest pile. "Let's see…" I headed over and started sorting through, wondering where they had gotten so many boxes in the first place. Maybe they paid coffin makers?

But it was depressing, looking inside the various boxes. There were little dolls, or trinkets that were worthless on the market, but priceless to those that owned them. I found spare clothes and wedding rings. One box held only tiny boots, a baby's spare shoes. I wondered what happened to the baby, then decided I wasn't sure I wanted to actually know.

A box in the middle of the pile held something really odd, though. It was a long pink dress, made of fine material, and a tome that practically shone with power.

"There!" the kid gasped and snagged the dress from me, clutching it to their chest. "Oh, good, they hadn't sold it yet," they breathed. "I can dress normally again!"

"I… ah… take it you dressed…" I began. I took stock of the dress, the color, and their build. "You dressed like a boy to avoid getting sold as a bed warmer, didn't you?"

"Not exactly." The kid tugged off the turban, revealing _long_ brown hair that was tangled and sweaty, and stripped out of the ragged clothes to slide on the robes. "I was more hiding from Gharnef." She sighed as she got the dress on, and I had a feeling she'd specifically asked for me to come with her because I was the only girl in the rescue group. "You're with the army, right?" She struggled to tie some cords around her waist, so I reached over to help. "Thanks." She smiled. "My name is Linde. Pontifex Miloah was my father. Princess Nyna is with you, right?"

"Yeah, she is, though at this point, she's going to be in the infirmary, tending the wounded." I got the cord tied, and stepped back, giving her a weird look. I had no clue what a 'pontifex' was. "Why? Do you want to join up?"

"Yes." Her eyes hardened, and she reached into the box to pull out that beautiful looking tome. "I inherited Aura from my father, and it has granted me the ability to wield it." She grinned triumphantly, but I felt ice cold dread pool in my stomach. "So, I'll fight, anyone and everyone, until I meet Gharnef and slay him myself!"

Linde ran off with a skip to her step, and I only stared after her, filled with horrible dread and jealousy. She was a mage. She had a super-spell, just like Merric.

How was I supposed to compete? How could I be useful, when there were _two_ replacements, now? I…

* * *

It took a while to calm things in Knorda long enough for us to safely leave, and we actually played city guard for a while and rounded up the slavers' accomplices, to be tried later when Nyna had reclaimed her throne. Then we discovered that some of the rescued actually wanted to _join the army_ , so we had to deal with all of that and basically encouraging some to remain behind to guard Knorda.

So, basically, by the time we actually finished with Knorda and returned to the army, the initial battles were over, and they were just securing the gates to charge inside. I went straight to Marth to report. Merric took Linde to Nyna for me.

"Welcome back!" Marth greeted, smiling warmly at me. He had blood smeared across his neck, like he'd tried to wipe off his face, but didn't do a good job. "I'm glad you made it back in time."

"Yeah, things got a little more complicated," I explained, shrugging. I still felt off because of my earlier anger, and I felt worse because of Linde. The worst part was that it wasn't even Linde's _fault_. "But, Knorda won't bother us."

"Good." He looked up at the giant castle gates as the soldiers rushed about, preparing. "If we strike now, before enemy reinforcements arrive, then we'll be able to set up a defensive line here." His hands shook, though. "Can we…?"

"What's with that talk, pretty boy?" I nudged his shoulder, smiling slightly. "We're going to make it. After all, this is the second step for liberating Altea."

"...Yes." He nodded, eyes certain now. "Yes, we will make it. We..." However, that determination faltered, and he glanced over to where the infirmary tent was set up. Even from here, we could hear muffled screams and sobs. "I…"

"Are you losing hope?" I shifted so that I blocked his view of the infirmary tent. "What caused that?"

"I just… have to rely on so many people." He sighed, looking up to the sky. "They look to me like I have all the answers, but I… I'm useless without them, really. Everyone is always protecting me, dying for me, yet I'm the one given the supposed glory."

"...Marth, do you remember what I said?" I poked his nose to make him squirm. "You're protecting a world. In fact, you can argue that you're fighting to save thousands of worlds, hundreds of thousands even, one for each person who lives. Yes, some die, but with a goal that large, you need help."

"But Anri-"

"Anri only wanted to save _one_ world, Artemis's. So, of course he did it alone. Saving _a_ world isn't that big of a thing. The healers do the same every day." I smiled reassuringly. "You believe in them, though. You believe in them, and that inspires them to fight for you."

"I…" He looked uncertain. "But…"

"Hey, if you're that worried, then why not just wander the camp and talk to them?" I shrugged. "Listen to their stories. Let them tell you what they hope to save with fighting. Learn about their worlds. Maybe that'll give you a better grasp of what all everyone is fighting for."

"...I think Princess Nyna does something similar, with those in the infirmary tent. The two of us can do it together." He smiled slightly. "Ah, but I almost forgot to thank you for tending to Knorda."

"It's no big deal." I shrugged again, this time for different reasons. My bad mood returned with a vengeance. "Just got lucky."

"If you say so?" His smile fell, and he frowned slightly, looking _worried_. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine, why?"

"You just… seem off." He frowned more. "You don't have to hide things from me. If you're tired, then…"

"Pretty boy, I'm fine."

"I believe that's the first time you've lied to me."

"Just go with it!"

"I'd rather not!" He scowled, and I glowered. No one paid attention to us. "If something is wrong, please, tell me! You listen to my worries, so I'd like to return the favor!"

"Marth, seriously, you have _way_ too much to worry about already! You've got no need to worry over a useless girl like me!" I stared, wide eyed, as I realized what I said, and I took a step back as Marth actually _jerked_ back, like I'd slapped him in the face. "You've got… the whole army… and the whole continent… to worry about. What point is there for someone like me?"

"Kris?" He sounded almost fragile. "Kris, I don't… why are you…?"

"There's nothing I can do!" The words came tumbling out. "Merric has Excalibur! Linde has Aura! I'm just a thief who knows magic! What worth do I have?!" My breath caught and my throat felt clogged. "So, don't worry about me, damn it!" I ran away then, mostly because I recognized I was about to cry, and if I was going to be this pathetic, I wanted to keep some shred of dignity and not _cry_. But I lost that battle pretty quickly, and so, I ducked near some storage tents, hiding among the various crates as I pulled my knees to my chest and quietly sobbed.

Gods, why did my conscience have to show up back then? I was so much happier when I could run away from how lame I was.

* * *

 _Notes on Wendell:_

 _A 60 year old sage who has more energy you'd expect for a man that age._

 _His age makes it difficult to battle, so he typical just works as a healer, though he keeps his tomes, just in case._

 _He's also a teacher at heart, and continues Merrick's training despite the war. He sometimes looks at me as if to say 'you can join in', but I don't want… to have my inferiority shown so completely._

 _Notes on Rickard:_

 _A thief who claims to be 20 years old, but is probably more like 15_

 _Like Julian, he's not much for battle, and in fact, he's even worse at fighting than Julian. Decent enough at stealing._

 _He's a cheeky bastard, who is good at faking tears and the like to get people to comfort him. He's more of a con artist than a thief, really._

* * *

Author's notes: Technically, there's a second character recruited here too in game, Jake, who Caeda (of course) can recruit using knowledge of his girlfriend, the RNG goddess of Anna (Jake is also a recurring character, but I see far more jokes about Anna). However, Kris doesn't know about it yet, so it's not mentioned in this chapter. But now we get Linde, with the strongest non-forged spell in the game, Aura. And Kris's insecurities bubbling over. And an Eremiya mention (she's a character from FE12).

In the novel adaptation of Mystery of the Emblem (set two or three years after the first game), Rickard is listed as 23-24 years old. Which… yeah. There's also a slightly different opening sequence, but I removed it here to focus more on the Knorda Market itself. Technically, there's also a manakete here, but I'm saving that for later. Julian and Kris keeping their stuff is a nod to how Linde joins fully armed with Aura in game, despite being _just_ rescued from the slavers.

Next Chapter - The Ageless Palace


	21. Chapter 10) The Ageless Palace

Chapter 10) The Ageless Palace

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _The Holy Empire of Archanea is around 600 years old, founded when the first Emperor, Adrah, unified the various city-states under a single banner. With its help, the other kingdoms rose, but Archenea was always the greatest, sharing its name with the continent itself. Of course, as time went on, the 'Holy Empire' lost itself to corruption and complacency, but it was still the strongest, and the wealthiest._

 _It's been over six months since Nyna and I escaped. It's been over two years since it fell. This time… this time, we're taking it back._

* * *

"Diana, you know how much I appreciate you, right?" Nyna's sudden words made me pause, and when I glanced up, I saw she looked deathly serious. "Right?" she asked again.

"Well, yes?" I replied, now a little confused. We'd just been resting in her tent, taking a breather before the war council. She'd been fixing her gloves and I'd been sharpening my sword, and we both pretended the world outside didn't exist for a few marks. "What brought that up?"

"I… well…" She sighed, and set her gloves to the side. I noticed she hadn't managed to fix a single tear in them, and set my sword to the side to try and mend them myself. Gloves were my weakness, though, so I doubted I'd do a good job. "Marth and Kris got into an argument."

"They what." I was so startled that I actually managed to prick myself, even through my own gloves. "Ack, that's going to bleed."

"Oh, are you okay?!" Nyna moved her chair closer to mine and took my hand. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault that the news you brought was so shocking." I went ahead and set her gloves down. There was no way I was going to manage mending them now. "But they had a fight?"

"Pretty much. Marth was depressed about it earlier, when we were talking." She sighed, looking morose. "Apparently, she thought herself useless? Worthless? Marth could barely even say the words, so I'm not quite sure what she said. But it got me worrying that you're feeling the same."

"No?" If anything, I was just more confused. "What makes her think that?"

"Marth wasn't sure. She brought up Merric and Linde and their spells, but he's just _so_ confused." She let go of my hands and dropped her own to her lap. "He thinks of her as his irreplaceable friend, as part of him as his own shadow. Yet she…" She shrugged. "I fretted."

"It's fine." I leaned back a bit, actually tipping my chair onto its back legs, keeping my balance thanks to the table between us. "I wonder why…" But, after only a moment's thought, the answer came to me.

She simply didn't know. She couldn't see how much Prince Marth adored and relied on her. She saw his interactions with others, and did not realize how even with them, he was still 'the prince'. But not to her. To her, he was simply the 'silly prince', the 'pretty boy' she teased relentlessly. There were no 'ranks' between them. He was simply a person to her, and one she poked and prodded. But it was hard for her to see, because she was so _used_ to him. She simply saw his laughter and relaxing, and didn't realize how even Merric, his childhood friend, still called him 'Prince Marth' and kept a certain distance.

But it was also more than that. She felt threatened, because she thought she _had_ a role, and now wasn't so certain. Her thoughts spiraled to darker turns because her role was not so defined. And I could understand that. I knew what it was like, to long for a place. I'd probably panic too, except I knew my role. I was Nyna's bodyguard, and I was… irreplaceable…

That thought made me freeze, to the point that I barely heard Nyna's worried call. Because that thought made me ill. That thought made me _ill_ because I had to wonder, _had to wonder_ , if I had… if I had manipulated Nyna at all. I didn't _think_ I did, but would I have noticed? Would I have cared? By her side, I had a place. By her side, I had a _role_. I had something to define myself by, when I was with her. Had I manipulated things, even unconsciously, so that I had all that again?

I lost everything twice. Once when I escaped my family, and again when Archanea fell and the Wolf Pack died. I ran away from both things, desperate to escape the pain even though, I knew, _knew_ , that I couldn't, because I didn't have the strength to run and protect Nyna. I ignored, avoided, and even lied to escape those pasts. My nightmares haunted me, but I didn't breathe a word of them to anyone.

But in my running away, had I turned myself into a parasite? Had I ensured Nyna was dependant on me? Had I done the same to Charles and the Wolf Pack? I hated being useless, worthless, and I could understand why Kris would break down over it. Had I tried to manipulate things, unconsciously, to make sure I was never useless and worthless?

I didn't know. I couldn't answer that. I didn't _think_ I had, but at the same time, I couldn't say I _didn't_.

"Diana?" Nyna's worried voice broke through my thoughts, and I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw she had actually leaned over the table to peer into my face worriedly. "You looked like you were a thousand worlds away," she whispered, frowning. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied automatically. I wasn't, but this was just how I reacted to troubling things. I ran. "Just lost in thought. Thanks for sending a search party." I made myself grin at my own stupid joke, and she laughed. "You really do need to mend those gloves, though."

"Oh, right!" She sat back down properly, and took up the gloves again, this time actually working on them. I watched her for a while before picking up my sword and inspecting it, making sure it was sharp, but not _so_ sharp that it was too thin and useless.

But even as I did, I tried to think of what was best for Nyna, and decided I needed to put more effort in encouraging her to spend time with people other than me. I'd done some before, but I _really_ needed to do it. She needed more friends besides me, and Jeorge. She needed to get out more, socialize. Even if it… it meant 'losing my place'... well, I'd been lost before. It wasn't anything new. I could deal. I could deal.

I didn't want to, but I could deal, and Nyna was far more important than myself. Always.

* * *

The original intention of the War Council had just been to make sure everyone knew what was going on. A quick and simple thing before charging the castle. However, somehow, it turned into a long winded thing that seriously had Minerva leave to ensure the enemy wasn't getting reinforcements. The worst part was that I, myself, was too distracted by my own worries to pay attention to _why_ it was taking so long.

"We've gone very off-topic," Duke Hardin scolded at one point. He was probably the only one here with his head on straight, and the droll look he wore hinted he was rather annoyed at the rest of us. "Did the previous battle stress you too much?"

"I suppose we are a little tired," Prince Marth mumbled. He did his best to smile and act like everything was okay, but it was clear that his argument with Kris had shaken him a bit. "I'm sorry. You're right. If we're shaken by this, then how can we do our duty and save the continent?"

"Then perhaps you can actually weigh in on the report I read." Duke Hardin remained stern, and it was easy to know why. This was important, and most of us had our heads in the clouds, or our own problems. "Do I need to repeat it?"

"You mentioned there were Archanean knights being held prisoner, right? Or was there another one?"

"No, that's it." Duke Hardin sighed, but a smile softened his sternness this time. "Do you want me to re-read the full thing, though?"

"Yes, please. I'm sorry again for the trouble."

"It's fine, so long as it does not happen again." Duke Hardin picked up a piece of paper and began reading it. I didn't pay attention, instead looking around the tent. No Wolf this time, since he'd left with Princess Minerva. Kris was… somewhere in here, as I'd seen her dart in, but she was hiding well. Prince Marth and Duke Hardin standing at the table. Nyna sitting as always, with me perched on the arm of her chair out of habit. We'd given up bringing Princess Caeda into the meetings; she'd preferred spending time with the soldiers anyway.

"So, to summarize, these knights can be executed or be used as hostages?" Prince Marth murmured. He frowned, looking over the rough map we had of the palace. "Who would they be?"

"Based on rumors, simply surviving Archanean knights who were deemed 'useless' in battle or, at least, more useful as prisoners," Duke Hardin answered. He set the paper down on the table again. "I understand the mercenary corps attached to the palace was fielded elsewhere. We'll only be fighting Grust, and weaker ones at that."

"We definitely need to take advantage of that, but I worry for those knights. They've likely endured a lot of pain, and I would like to save them, if possible." Prince Marth sighed, resting his hands on the table. "What to do?"

"...Diana," Nyna suddenly called. She barely even glanced at me before closing her eyes. I knew it was to hide her own fear. After all, these knights likely included Midia, and the others who had tried to save her when the palace fell. "Do you know where the execution might take place or...?"

"I don't think it has already, since Dolhr likes making examples of those it executes," I replied. I leaned into her briefly, reassuringly, before straightening. "Though, I'll admit to also being bad and not paying attention. Anything on 'examples'?"

"No, there are no corpses on the gates this time, unless I missed that."

"Oh, good. Then I'm more certain they're still alive. Of course, there's still problems. For one…" I pointed to the map spread out on the table. "There are three places traditionally used for executions in the palace. Now, all three are outdoors, but it's still a one-in-three chance of picking the right one. That's assuming they've even been moved to the execution grounds. It's possible they'd just be killed in their cells, or dragged to another area to be used as hostages."

"And how might they be executed?"

"Since this is Grust, then we'll be dealing with the traditional firing squad." I closed my eyes, and thought a bit about what I knew from military. Most of what I knew came from Camus, but perhaps right now, we could use it to save the others. "And if they follow their own rules, then they'd be shot at 'last light', and they won't be led out until that time."

"...Meaning that we will need someone to infiltrate before everyone else in order to ascertain just _where_ they are." Nyna nudged my arm, but when I opened my eyes, I saw hers were still closed. "Do you mind going in with Jeorge? Between the two of you, I think you'll have most of the secret passages known, and you're both quick."

"I can, but you'll need someone to guard the infirmary in my place." A thought occurred to me, though, and I hunted for Kris again among our group. It took a bit, since she was hiding in the shadows, but I eventually found her behind Prince Marth, too far for him to notice. "I recommend Kris, actually."

"I agree." Nyna's tone brooked no arguments, and for good reason. We've wasted too much time in this Council. "I thank each and every one of you for this." Nyna opened her eyes slowly, and fixed everyone with a regal gaze. I couldn't help but smile when I saw 'that light' in her eyes again. "It has been a long time, but with your strength, I believe we can succeed. I am ready. Let us reclaim my home."

The words were a dismissal, and Duke Hardin and Prince Marth left immediately to begin preparations. Nyna stood up slowly and went to the infirmary to help out there. I had intended to go find Jeorge and give him our marching orders, but a hand snagged my sleeve as I tried to leave the War Tent, and I looked back to see Kris staring at me with wide eyes.

"Why me?" she whispered. She looked a little lost, and her eyes were puffy, like she'd been crying. "I mean… there are stronger…"

"Perhaps, but they are simply stronger because of weapons and training, which can easily be replaced," I replied. I gently pried her hand off my sleeve. "Besides, it's not power alone that protects someone." I reached up to grasp her shoulder, a little annoyed she was taller than me. I was the older one, after all. "You need cunning. You need skill. Merric and Linde might have more power, but they're sheltered. They rely on their power, and are create spectacles. They're smart, but not _cunning_. You are." I smiled at her, even as my insides turned. After all, if she could do a good job, then maybe… maybe I needed Nyna far more than she needed _me_. But, at the same time, I didn't want Kris to feel so lost. I knew what that was like. I didn't want her to feel like I did. "I can tell by the smokescreens you make, among other things. You're far better suited to protect someone than those two."

"But…"

"Just try, Kris. And then later, have a good long talk with Marth, and actually listen to why he finds you irreplaceable." I squeezed her shoulder and turned away. "Oh, the healers all overwork, so you'll need to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't collapse. Maria's prone to it."

I made that my last bit of advice before I gave her a fussy lecture on everyone's habits. I had my own job this time, and I had to do it well. I _had_ to, for my own sake.

* * *

Sneaking in was easy. We just used the same secret path that Camus had used to get Nyna and I out. Moving through unnoticed was a lot harder, but there were only two of us, and both Jeorge and I were very familiar with a lot of the hidden passages within the walls. He'd grown up here, after all, and I'd spent two years wandering the place. Of course, thanks to our quiet, we took to eavesdropping on the soldiers patrolling, hoping to catch some bit of information that would tell us where the knights were. After a few bits of damn useless information, mostly the soldiers bitching about the food or training schedules, we did manage to hear _something_. But it wasn't good.

"Damn, looks like they're going to execute them early," Jeorge murmured. I made some noise in acknowledgement, trying to decide just what I felt like. "Nothing on which one of the three, but there's one that's close to the dungeons. We might as well head that way."

"Yeah, sounds good," I whispered. I started feeling almost ill when we got inside, and my thoughts became a confusing mess of tangled knots. Though I should've ignored or run away from it, I couldn't help but poke and prod at it, like a little kid wiggling a loose tooth. Or more like poking a bruise, just to see if it still hurt or not, only to be greeted with inevitable pain.

"Maybe we'll get luck and hear something besides how much these people hate porridge. Serves them right, though. The people are going to rebel when you beat them into the ground, and Archaneans are stubborn enough to endure starvation if it means their enemies starve too. Harvests were poor."

"Makes sense." The pain came from the sick realization of just why I felt horrible. Some part of me, thankfully quiet _but there and gods I hated it_ , wanted to be 'too late'. Wanted to be 'too late' to save Midia, because Midia _used_ to be Nyna's bodyguard. I had been given the job, the role, because Nyna wasn't allowed to have an Archanean bodyguard and Camus used a loophole to make sure she didn't have someone of the Sable Order. It was 'mine' now, and I selfishly wanted it to stay that way. Midia was a threat to that. So, some part of me wanted to be 'too late' and let her _die_ , just so that I didn't have any 'competition'.

This was despite knowing how devastated Nyna would be. How sad Jeorge would be. How broken _Astram_ would be if he was still alive. This was despite knowing that others would die with her, people I didn't know, but people Nyna still liked. And that same part of me whispered that it would be 'okay' if Nyna was sad, because I could be there to reassure her, comfort her, put on a little pathetic look to get apologies and reassurances too.

I wondered why I suddenly had these thoughts, but I realized the answer instantly; my role, my place, was being _threatened_ for the very first time, and this was my reaction. It sickened me that I had these thoughts. My parents had been selfish and manipulative, removing threats and using people. It had never occurred to me that I could be the same. I hated that I could. It made me worry if I'd done the same with the Wolf Pack, somehow. My memories said 'no', but memories were biased. Would I even admit to myself that I had?

I hated it. I hated me. I wished I hadn't survived running away from my blood family. I wished I hadn't survived Archanea's fall. I wished I hadn't survived in that Aurelisi fortress. Then I would've never figured this out, and maybe Nyna would've been better off if I…

Something brushed against my cheek, startling from my thoughts. It still took two heartbeats to figure out just what the something had been: Jeorge had kissed me. On the cheek. Randomly. While we were in the middle of the palace. Hiding from enemies.

"...The hell is that for?!" I hissed, glowering at him. My face turned pink from the realization. "You…!"

"You're no longer thinking whatever was making your frown so much," he pointed out with a cheeky grin. "So, I succeeded."

"Now you're just making me think of all the ways I want to throttle you."

"Ah, so you're thinking of me now? I'm honored."

"Jeorge, I swear…" I growled something more unflattering under my breath. "Seriously, you've been _really_ flirtatious. I know you like cultivating a ladies' man image, but aren't there easier people to go after?"

"Well, acting like I'm too foolish to stop is certainly a good way to get people to underestimate me." He shrugged, still grinning. "Besides, I like you." His grin faded. "But if I went too far, I'm sorry. I tried shaking you, and just talking, but you were really deep in your head."

"During an operation that cannot be afforded. Yes, I understand." I sighed, mostly to hide the funny warm feeling washing through me at his simple declaration of 'I like you'. I didn't want to think of what _that_ might mean, because if I was right, I'd just be setting myself up for pain. Jeorge was only serious about one thing: his duty to Nyna. He'd never be 'serious' about a girl, and while I'd bedded a few men in the past, I had decided a while ago that sex with no strings attached wasn't quite my idea of 'fun'. "Maybe trip me or something next time."

"I tried. You literally jumped over my foot." He grinned again at my blank look. "Yeah, imagine _my_ reaction. All frowning at whatever you were thinking, and you still _jumped_ over my foot."

"There's no way I jumped and didn't realize it."

"Okay, lifted your foot up and leaned to the side. Same difference." He laughed softly when I rolled my eyes. "Regardless, if you're head is in the mission now?"

"Yes, let's go." I _had_ to rescue Midia. It was the only way I'd feel like I was 'winning' against these thoughts. No small part of me wanted to run, to escape the thoughts and responsibility for Midia, but I couldn't run. Not now. "Lead the way."

"I think I can enjoy being chased." He leaned away from my half-hearted attempt to bat his shoulder. "This way."

He and I took off down the halls, ducking into random alcoves to avoid getting caught by enemies. He led the way to the grounds easily, so easily that I wondered if he'd actually had to execute some people there, but of course, I didn't ask. That wasn't any of my business, even if I was curious as to who would move the old king off his lazy ass enough to order an execution for. Regardless, though, it proved useful, since we made it there in record time and actually had a bit of luck. Midia and the other knights, all those I vaguely recognized from that day two years ago, were actually here. There were two problems, though. The first was that the Grust soldiers were already prepared to kill them. We were running out of time, and I prayed that my woolgathering and hating myself wouldn't _actually_ cost them their lives.

The second was that Jeorge's path actually led to a balcony or something _above_ the execution grounds, meaning they were far below. We _really_ were running out of time.

"So, can you shoot them from here?" I asked, peering over the railing to try and figure out anything I could do. I pulled a small mirror from my pack and used it to catch the light, flashing it up. That was our signal to Minerva, but we both had to duck quickly as one of the Grustians glanced up in confusion. "Well?"

"At this angle, and the amount of time I'll have, I can get one, two at most," he murmured. He peeked out briefly, eyes narrowed. "That might be enough, and it might not. But if I'm going to get more than that, I'll need a distraction."

"Then that's what I'll be doing. We need them shocked. It'll take Minerva a bit to get over here." I looked around, and grimaced as I realized the quickest way down. "I'm going to climb."

"Be careful." He grinned at me, and it almost hid the very real worry in his eyes. "Should I kiss your cheek again for good luck?"

"You're really just reminding me that I want to throttle you." Still, I grinned back. I hoped it hid my nerves. "Relax. We've got this."

"Now you sound like Charles."

"Well, let's hope I can live up to the words like him." I glanced down one more time, grimacing at the height and how open it was. If the soldiers looked up, even once, I was a dead target. But I… I had to do this. For Nyna. For Midia. For Jeorge. For _myself_. I had to. "Here I go."

I swung myself over the railing and carefully climbed down, thanking every single one of the gods above that Archanea loved their fancy architecture. It gave me lots of handholds and footholds.

"Soldiers, we know why we are here!" one of the soldiers below boomed. I glanced down, my stomach turning at the height again, and I grimaced when I realized the yeller, likely the leader, wasn't directly under me. One of the five archers was, though. I could make this work. "For treachery against the empire, these five knights shall be executed!"

I climbed down a little more, looking up to where Jeorge was. He had set up, aiming an arrow while still remaining hidden. His eyes darted over to me briefly and this time, he didn't even try to hide his worry. This was a high-stakes gamble, and the stakes were all our lives.

"And their bodies shall be given to the rebels as a warning! Let them see what happens to those who defy Dolhr!"

I continued climbing down. My foot slipped briefly and my fingers bled as I slid and caught myself. I jerked my head down, pulse hammering in my ears, but the ones below didn't seem to notice. From here, I could see the knights, including Midia, had their eyes closed. The others had their hands up behind their head, but Midia clutched the pendant she wore instead. I recognized it as the necklace Astram had given her three years ago, a year before the Fall. I'd helped him pick it out.

"Bows, positions!"

I almost cursed as the soldiers below drew their arrows, realizing that if I continued to climb as I did, there was no way I was going to make it. My breath shortened as I began to panic, trying to figure out what I could do, fighting off that voice telling me to just let them all go, put them out of my misery. A crazy idea bloomed amidst that little bit of madness, and I carefully let go of the wall with one hand to draw my sword, flipping it so that I held it backwards.

" _Fire_!"

I let go entirely, pushing off from the wall to add a little more speed, blade positioned down so that I could hit the soldier underneath me with the full force of my fall. The blade hit them straight in the collarbone, and they gasped and crumpled. The impact tore the blade from my hand, though my momentum also tore it from the archer's body, blood splattering everywhere. I managed to roll before I hit the ground too hard, bleeding off some of the force, and I popped to my feet, standing between the archers and the knights, ignoring the pain screaming up my arm and legs. My hand felt swollen, though it didn't look it, and I could see a bruise blooming on my wrist.

"Well, hello there," I greeted everyone, smirking to hide my winces. The stares were worth it. "Wow, the rain sure is brutal today, huh?" I made a point to look up at the cloudless sky, but that was mostly to try and see if Minerva was near. I thought I caught a glimpse of her in the distance, but I wasn't sure. "Killer, really."

"Intruders!" the leader snapped, visibly alarmed. They snarled at me, and I gave them a droll look in return. "You damn rebe-"

"I am Diana, sent here by Her Imperial Majesty, Nyna of Archanea. This is _her_ home, and you have spent too much time lounging around in _her_ throne." I glared in return. "She's taking back her home, and all the people within, and I will not tolerate you behaving as if this castle is yours. And neither will he."

"He?" The leader gave me a confused look, while the soldiers didn't seem to know what to make of the strange girl who fell from the sky to kill one of their own. I didn't blame them because that sentence was enough to make _me_ go 'what the hell' and I was the girl in question! "Who the hell are you-?!" They screamed as two more soldiers went down with arrows through their necks. "The hell?!"

The remaining two soldiers had slightly better reactions. They'd actually turned and tried to retaliate. But Jeorge had already moved, likely heading for a safer path down than mine. But their 'better reaction' also gave me another slight advantage. They now didn't have arrows on the strings, and my own aches had faded enough for me to scoop up my own sword.

"Where are you aiming?" I taunted, settling myself into a defensive stance. The soldiers looked dazed. "I see the war funds went to good use, training you lot."

"There's only two of them!" the leader snapped. His angry words did nothing to hide how he was trembling, nor did they hide how he hadn't drawn his own sword. "Just deal with-"

"Who said it was just us 'two'?" Then, with the most perfect bit of dramatic timing _ever_ , the whole area went into shadow. A glance up confirmed the sun had been eclipsed by a certain Crimson Dragoon and her wyvern. Minerva had found us. "You should've picked a place indoors to do your execution."

I jumped back as Minerva basically _dropped_ , the kicking up a strong enough wind to actually unbalance me. Without a moment's hesitation, she leapt off her wyvern's back and splintered one soldier's skull. She punched the second one in the face, and delivered a brutal blow to their chest, so brutal that her axe actually remained stuck. The leader _tried_ to take advantage of her lack of a weapon, but Minerva simply ducked and threw them over her shoulder, right at her wyvern, who _eagerly_ snapped the leader's head clean off with razor-sharp fangs.

As she casually brushed herself off, and retrieved her axe with two quick jerks, I decided I was _very_ glad she was on our side.

"Well, we pulled that off somehow," I noted lightly. I turned to the others, smiling and waving at their stupefied looks. "Right, so, sorry, but we really have to get moving, and-" A sudden hug cut me off, and it took me a moment to realize it was Midia. _That_ really startled me. We'd been acquaintances for years, thanks to Astram, but she'd never once hugged me. "Um…"

"You made it," she whispered. "Ha… and here I thought I was going to have to apologize to Astram." She shifted back and gave me a warm smile. My guilt intensified at how happy she was. "Princess Nyna?"

"She's helping in the infirmary. She requested Jeorge and I come get you guys, and Minerva here insisted on helping too."

"Jeorge is here too?" She laughed. "I should've known by the dramatics." She peered around me at Minerva, though, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "But… ah… what are you…?"

"With all due respects, explaining my circumstances is likely going to take a bit," Minerva answered. She walked over and rested a hand on my shoulder, smiling. "But I swear, by my name and blood, that I am your ally." She gestured to her wyvern, who looked surprisingly docile given how there was literally a shredded body by its bloody claws. Wyverns liked to play, like cats. "If any of you cannot walk or run, my wyvern can give them a lift. My girls have instructions to assist."

"I can, but I'm not sure about Bishop Boah," Midia murmured. She gestured to the older man among the group, who did look a little wan. "Thomas also took an injury trying to resist…"

"The two of them can ride. I'll assist down here, especially since we'll need to find weapons for you."

"Will that truly be alright?"

"Rescue missions are part of our training, believe it or not. Macedon's mountains mean we get a lot of people caught up in rockslides." Minerva smiled slightly. "I assure you that they'll be fine."

Midia still looked hesitant, but nodded, reluctantly returning the smile. "Then, I accept on their behalf. Let's get them on, and then figure out where Jeorge went, the drama king."

"To be fair, most of the dramatics were _my_ fault this time," I pointed out with a sigh. "I'm the one who jumped and boasted." An echoing roar, however, sent shivers down my spine, and I was reminded of Lefcandith, when we met that Bantu dragon fellow. A second roar gave me an idea of just why that was. "I think they sent a dragon on our main army, and we sent our own in retaliation."

"You have a dragon?!" Midia yelped. Her jaw actually dropped. "How!?"

"Move first, answers later. We _really_ need to get to safety." I wondered how many dragons there were, and why they were still here. "Let's get moving!"

I had a really bad feeling about all of this. Nyna… everyone… I hoped they were safe.

* * *

We didn't bother with stealth as we raced through the paths, trying to meet up with our army. Some paths, however, were blocked, so we had to constantly look for different paths. Rubble, some fires even. Corpses. Battles we couldn't push through, but did provide ample opportunity for Midia and the two knights with her, who looked so similar that I sincerely wondered if I was seeing double, to get weapons.

As we ran, I found myself remembering the Fall. Rivers of blood streaming down the halls, with corpses acting like rocks in a stream. Fire and smoke chasing after me, no matter where we went. Shattered glass making each step had a strange chiming-crinkle sound. Broken windows letting fading light stream in.

I half expected Camus to show up out of nowhere, just as he had back then. But this was two years later, and Camus wouldn't be anywhere near. I almost wished he would be, though. Then maybe I could've dragged him to Nyna, and we could…

I stumbled a bit, a bit startled at where my thoughts had turned. Looking around the halls, the ruined castle that had been my shelter, my _home_ , for two years, I realized something I had never considered before. I'd… actually been more than a little happy, back here. It had been a strange life of imprisonment, but I had only fond memories, really. I thought of the days where I'd make tea for Camus and Nyna while they laughed and gossiped in a parlor. I thought of watching over them as they made their trips into town. I thought of listening to Nyna make plans of how she'd make things better for everyone, because she valued my opinion, and happily tell me about what the children in town had given her. I thought of sparring with Camus in the mornings, and of how he'd confided in me the _real_ reason why he had stayed, because he actually trusted me.

I hadn't thought about it. I never even considered I'd been happy here. Because it had been after everyone died, and we were trapped, but really, I'd been happy. It had been a mockery of what life 'should' have been like, and yet, it had been comforting. But I'd… run away from the thought, because… because I thought I…

I thought, like Camus, that I didn't really 'deserve' happiness. In his case, it was because he 'failed', and in mine, it was because I 'survived'. But he threw himself into duty to pretend it all away, to make excuses, and I threw myself into my 'role' to pretend it all away. I could almost laugh at how ridiculous it all was.

"Camus, when I next see you, we're going to have a nice glass of cider and whiskey, and laugh at how stupid we both are," I whispered. Then I froze, a bit worried that someone had overheard, but a quick look around actually showed the others had gone ahead and so, with a squeak, I dashed forward to catch up. But when I did, I found myself pausing for two reasons. One, I knew this room. It was the room that Charles and I had guarded, during the Fall, desperately trying to buy time for evacuations. It was the room where I'd last seen Charles; I had even seen his corpse because I'd thrown myself so thoroughly into my 'role' to escape. It was the room where I'd first seen Camus. It was the room where this strange adventure began, and I felt so _old_ standing in there.

The second reason was because there was a dragon, a full sized dragon, and I thought stopping and staring at the _giant dragon inside of a palace_ was perfectly justified.

"Why must today be 'Diana does a lot of soul searching she really didn't want to do' day?" I grumbled, skirting the edges of the room as I tried to assess the situation. But, really, all I got was 'giant dragon' and 'Jeorge, Minerva, Midia, and the double knight duo were fighting it'. "Also, why must there be a dragon? This is exactly like a cliche story." Remembering that day, I looked up and noticed there was another candelabra up there, different colored but still the type that lowered. It was even lit, though there was no reason for it. The fading light from the windows was still enough to make sure everyone could see.

It seemed so perfect. I could almost hear Charles's laugh again.

I lunged for the side, heading straight for where the chain and rope were. They were tied even tighter than before, so I glanced around, made sure that none of mine were close, and whirled, using the extra momentum to snap the rope and chain. The gamble paid off, just as it had back then, and the candelabra fell, first with a quiet _creak_ as it unbalanced, and then a giant _crack_ as it landed right on the dragon. No flames this time, but the splintered pieces and burning candles rolled down its face and back, and it tossed up its head to _roar_ in pain. I had to cover my ears as the sound echoed harshly through the room, disorienting all of us, and the daze that followed meant I had no time to dodge when the dragon, either stupidly lucky or incredibly clever, whacked me _hard_ with its tail, sending me flying.

I hit the ground with enough force to knock all the breath out of me, and I tried to roll to get my feet under me, but the momentum was too much, so I simply slid to a stop across the stone floor, scraping up my side badly in the process. I struggled to get to my feet, and had to roll out of the way as the dragon literally tried to stomp on me. It clearly didn't appreciate the candelabra hitting its head, even if it didn't do a lot of visible damage.

When I tried to get my feet under me, Minerva actually reached down and pulled me up. "Why was there a single rope tying that to the ceiling?" she asked dubiously, eyeing the ceiling. "Why? That just seems all sorts of stupid."

"It's ornamental, meaning that the candles are Very Elaborate," I answered, doing my best to put 'importance' and emphasis on the last two words. My voice was a little breathy from pain, though. "Oh, hell, I hurt." And now that I paused, pain was all I could think about.

"Yeah, that looked like it stung." She gave me a tired smile, and I noticed that some of the red on her wasn't her armor or hair. It was her own blood; her armor was cracked. I gaped when I realized her armor was actually cracked in a pattern, one that scarily resembled a bite impression. "I thank the gods that Michalis gave me Hauteclere." She brought up her axe so that I could see it, and I noticed a little glow about it. "It's like Gradivus, capable of healing me. I would be dead if not for that."

"How did we run into it?" There was a scream, and I jerked my head towards the sound, wondering if someone was dead. Based on what little I could see past the dragon, one of the knights was close. "I missed that part."

"I stepped into the room, and got greeted by teeth." She grimaced, a hand going up to where one puncture-crack showed how close she'd been to instant death. It was _just left_ of her heart, and likely had gotten her lung, though Hauteclere healed it. "Then we simply tried to not die."

"And then I came in. And dropped a candelabra on its head and made it mad." An arrow flew for the dragon's face, but splintered off the scales across it's jaw. Midia tried to go for its stomach, but was swatted aside, like a bug. "Why did none of us just run?"

"Because _that_ makes too much sense." Both of us just looked up as the dragon decided to loom over us, apparently annoyed that she and I had a lovely little conversation while it wanted to kill us. "Push or pull."

"Push." I only had a vague idea of what she was talking about, but if I was right, pushing was definitely the safer option. "Now."

She and I pushed off each other, using each other's strength to get us the extra boost needed to avoid the dragon's fire breath. Even with that, I barely managed to keep from being singed, the heat from the flames making my skin prickle painfully. I rolled to try to not scrape up my side, again, but the dragon stomped the ground hard, making the entire room shake, and I lost my balance to hit the ground hard. Some dust actually fell from the ceiling, and if the candelabra wasn't already down, I was almost certain it would've fallen. Some portraits on the walls _did_ fall, frames splintering on the floor, canvases rolling in the dirt and blood.

" _So, these are the little lambs the foolish inheritors send_?" A voice suddenly echoed through my head, and as I pushed myself up, I saw the dragon look at us with amusement. I paled when I realized it had just been playing with us. " _You're barely fit to amuse me. How pathetic you all have become. Bloated by peace, you have forgotten how to fight._ " The dragon bared its fangs in a sick smile, and my blood ran cold at the sight. I couldn't breathe as it focused on me. I felt like a rabbit in front of a very hungry hawk. I felt like I was twelve again, helpless and afraid as someone else did what they wanted, and treated me like I was worth nothing. " _You have forgotten how to kill."_

"I can guarantee you that we have not." A quiet voice cracked through my fear, but not through my daze. "Besides, even if we have, we have not forgotten how to _heal_." A gentle light washed through the room. I watched as my injuries healed up and actually thought to look towards the door. Two years ago, it was the door Camus had entered the room from. But now, Sister Lena stood in the doorway, glowing staff in one hand, with another in her other, hidden by her skirts. I recognized it as a Physic staff. "Humans have always been very adaptable, according to history," she continued, completely serene. "According to those same histories, dragons are prone to stagnation, and predictable tactics."

" _Humans write lies to make themselves feel better!"_ The dragon snarled, lowering itself to glare at Lena. But she met the glare impassively. " _History is always written by the victors, no matter how untrue the words are!"_

"Thank you for reminding us that humans once defeated you and yours, and thus were the 'victors' who got to make up history." Lena smiled sweetly. "Do you have other words to say or shall those be your final ones? I believe the others have gained their second winds."

"Damn straight we have!" Midia snapped. She took advantage of Sister Lena's distraction to dart in close and catch the dragon behind the leg, right around the knee. The dragon roared, and buckled briefly before catching itself. "Princess Nyna has returned, and we have survived two very long years to make it this far!"

"So, we're not about to let an overgrown lizard stop us now!" Jeorge added. He managed to get a shot off and catch the dragon under the jaw. It stumbled back, and visibly tried to open its mouth, but the arrow must've gotten the actual joint, since it didn't seem quite able to do so. "Not now, and not ever!"

"...That's right," I whispered, courage thrumming through me again. I thought of the Fall, and how Camus had reacted to my nickname for Medy. "We won't fall to you. Not now, and not ever."

" _You fell before!"_ the dragon 'shouted'. It was strange, hearing such a roar from deep within my mind, echoing on and on. Like I should be buckling from the noise, but there wasn't any sound at all. " _You will fall again!_ "

"It was Camus the Sable who conquered this palace, at the help of a traitor!" I glared at the dragon, feeling more alive than I had in a long, _long_ while. "This castle did not fall to dragons, but to humans! Neither you nor your melodramatic leader with a fetish for death, despair, and destruction had _anything to do with it!_ " I brought my sword up, prepared to attack. Prepared to fight. Prepared to kill. Prepared to _win_. "You accomplished jack shit on your own! It was a human that revived your lord in the first place! You owe every single victory you have to humans! So, why the hell should we be afraid of you? _You're nothing without our strength_!"

"Can we stop with all the dramatics?" Minerva asked dryly. She actually dropped down from the ceiling and smashed her axe into the dragon's skull, creating a deep cut that ran red. It took me a second to realize she'd actually used what remained from the candelabra's chain and rope to climb up, taking advantage of our distractions. "We've got a beast to put down, do we not? Let's get to it, and then return to the others!"

The others fell on the dragon, including the silent armored knights. I got a couple of hits in, dodging out of the way of its claws, before prioritizing defending Sister Lena. She, after all, didn't have any offensive capabilities, and could only really dodge and pray if the dragon targeted her. I fell into the 'role' of protecting her with an ease that surprised me. It just… fit, in a way being a 'mercenary' never did. Perhaps it was a lingering thing from my clerical training. That need to help people. Mercenaries just did things for a profit, though some, like my family in the Wolf Pack, kept their morals. But it was still a job driven mostly by money, rather like whoring yourself out. I hadn't minded, and I had loved the people, but maybe that played a role in why I found myself so _desperate_ to remain Nyna's guard that I had such horrible and hateful thoughts. I finally, finally, had a place that felt right, and had been unconsciously scared of being ousted.

It didn't make me feel better about any of it. But I did like seeing the path to it, since I could then figure out how to _stop_ myself from going too far.

"So, what brings you all the way out here?" I asked Sister Lena as we actually ducked out of the room briefly to avoid getting torn apart by the dragon's claws. Our dramatic bolstering of our spirits had also served to taunt the dragon, and dragons did _not_ like being taunted. "Maybe it wasn't so wise to bully a literal dragon."

"Oh, but it was fun!" she laughed. Only her eyes betrayed her worry, and I wondered if it was just a healer thing to appear calm at all times. "Ah, but to answer your question, Julian heard some noise and went to investigate. He saw you all fighting a dragon, and raced back to inform Prince Marth and Duke Hardin. Princess Nyna insisted that a healer go to support, and I volunteered. So, here I am."

"You are the craziest healer I've ever met." Both of us jumped back as the dragon actually tried to snap us up in its jaws, headbutting the doorframe in the process. It cracked and splintered, and it staggered back, shaking its head. "Why did it do that?"

"Yes, why would it go after the girl who taunted it the most?" She brought up her Physic staff and healed Midia as she passed by, taking the dragon's focus off of us. "We need an opening…"

"We'll get one soon." I shifted in front of her, and slashed the dragon's claw when it tried to catch us again. "I haven't seen an arrow fly in a while, so I know Jeorge is taking his time to aim."

Literally two heartbeats later, an arrow flew, and it caught the dragon square in the eye. It popped with a spew of blood, and the dragon actually _shrieked_ , the sound high enough to my my ears ring, and jerked its head back.

"Diana," Sister Lena whispered. She brought up her other staff then, and I saw it was her _Warp_ staff, a staff I had only seen in the supplies. "You up for it?"

"This is why you volunteered," I realized, my eyes widening. I settled my feet and nodded, bringing my sword up. "Yes, I am. Go for it."

"It'll feel weird, so bear with it. I'll get you right to it." She closed her eyes, a soft glow surrounding her and ruffling her hair and skirts, like a bit of playful wind. Light flickered under me, carving out a star shape, and then… well, 'weird' didn't even begin to describe the horrible feeling of the world itself falling away, the lightheadedness that flooded my brain, and the sudden _drop_ of my stomach. I didn't even see a bit of light or anything once it took hold. It was just darkness and disorientation. Endless nothingness for one horribly long heartbeat.

But then it all cleared, and suddenly, I was no longer on the floor next to Sister Lena. Instead, I was in the air, on the dragon's blind side, and I knew I would only get one shot to make this count. The dragon was already turning its attention at Sister Lena.

So, I flipped to get a bit more momentum and plunged my sword into the dragon's throat. Blood gushed and spurted as I fell, using my weight and gravity to slice through the dragon's chest. It took every bit of strength I had to hang on, even with both hands, thanks the force of my own fall and how slick it all became thanks to the blood, and my teeth rattled as I passed over the ribs, the jolt almost enough to knock me away anyway.

But I got to the belly, and from there, it was 'smooth sailing', though the smell was nauseating as I hit a bunch of internal organs. I jumped away once I got to the bottom of it's bellow, and landed _hard_ , pain ricocheting all the way up my legs to my spine. A quick test suggested I might've actually broken my ankle, but I still had enough strength in the other one to stumble back as the dragon loosed a dying screech and fell to its side. Light wrapped around it as it fell, and slowly, it actually shrank to something the size of a human, but heavily wrapped in a dark, rapidly staining cloak.

In the silence that followed, I limped over to the person, and watched as blood poured out of their chest and stomach, a smaller version of the wound I'd inflicted. I brought my sword up again, flipped it so that the blade was down, and smiled when they looked up at me in silent horror. "What was that about humans forgetting how to kill?" I asked softly. They didn't answer. "Thought so." I stabbed down, and put all the remaining dregs of strength I had into shattering their skull, ensuring that they definitely _were_ dead.

Then I staggered, letting go of my sword as pain threatened to overwhelm me. As it clattered loudly to the ground, someone caught me and carried me to Sister Lena, who immediately went to work on healing me. Both of us giggled over how her plan had worked, even as the someone continued to support me, but it wasn't until I heard the someone make a joke at Midia's expense that I realized the 'someone' was actually Jeorge.

Maybe I wouldn't throttle him for kissing me on the cheek after all.

* * *

My slaying the dragon led to some strange bits of morale boosting. Some of it I could understand, since we had the reassurance that dragons could be killed through hard work and luck like everything else, but in the course of a single mark, I became the 'Empress's Dragonslayer' and I wasn't sure how much I liked that. It completely discounted how I'd only been able to do that because of everyone working together. Then again, people liked a 'single' hero, and I'd been the one who got the dramatic final blow, even if it had been Sister Lena's idea.

"I'm never leaving your side again," I groaned, curling up in my blankets. Nyna had insisted that I just go to bed early tonight, since even with healing, my body was aching and stiff. My ankle was actually braced, because I really had broken it. Damn near shattered it, actually. "I always get horribly injured when I do, and weird rumors popped up this time!"

"We're going to make that a standing order," Nyna grumbled, fussing over my pillows. We were actually in her rooms, the same ones we'd stayed at when we _lived_ here, and there was something just so comforting about it. Like I was 'home' again. "Though, Lena said she was very happy to not have any of the extra attention."

"I bet." I groaned again, thinking of the others. Minerva had logically pointed out that the soldiers didn't want to celebrate _her_ quite yet, since she had been the enemy. Midia had mused that she was too 'new' for the soldiers to want to celebrate. Jeorge had laughed at my expense before explaining that his title as a 'perfect shot' meant that people _expected_ such weird things from him. "She only wants the extra attention of Julian. Who I owe _so_ many drinks."

"Prince Marth, Duke Hardin, and I about had a heart attack when he told us there was a second dragon inside. We had enough troubles with the one outside, even with Bantu serving as our shield."

"How is he? I heard he took some bad injuries."

"He did, but he said that he'd be fine with rest. He might not be able to fight for us for a while, but he'll do what he can." Nyna sat on the edge of the bed and reached up to start braiding little bits of my hair. "You, however, are to rest."

"How was the infirmary?"

"Filled to the brim with the injured, dying, and dead, as always." She finished one braid and started on another. "Kris did a wonderful job guarding us, though she made a few mistakes, mostly because she'd wanted to set up traps and forgot that people _needed_ to reach us, and she wasn't that great with triage, but she kept us safe, and mixed up medicines when she wasn't fighting. I think it gave her a confidence boost."

"I'm glad." No small part of me was pleased that she hadn't done a _perfect_ job either. That part was pleased that I still had 'my' role, and my stomach turned again. I wished I could simply be happy Kris was feeling better. "My plan was a success, then!"

"It was." However, she paused and peered worriedly at my face. "You know… you've been oddly introspective today. Is anything wrong?" She waited, but I hesitated in answering. "Please tell me? I'd hate for you and I to have an argument."

"Well…" I sighed, and shifted a bit so that I could still lay down, but look her in the face. "It's something I've realized this morning, and it's been bothering me all day."

"What is it?"

"How dependent you and I are of each other." I paused, worried she'd protest, but instead, her expression blanked. "Yeah, I know. Me too. That's why it's been bothering me." Other things had bothered me as well, of course, but I didn't want to share how a part of me had been willing to let Midia _die_ , just so that she wouldn't take my 'role'. A worry that proved fruitless, as Midia was more than happy to let me continue being Nyna's bodyguard. That, and my slow resolve to stop running and take my own advice. I couldn't save Camus if I didn't save myself first.

"...I suppose… it does make sense." Nyna went back to braiding bits of my hair. "For two years, it's basically been just you and me against… everything."

"The only other person was Camus." I laughed a little. "You, me, and Camus. A weird trio in some hellish ruins."

"And then we escaped to Aurelis, and everything was so different. I had to be the Empress in Exile. You had to be my shield. Everything was real, and… and I was scared of getting close to anyone." Her braiding faltered, and her eyes teared up. "We lost Camus. We might, _might_ , get him back, but we did lose him. You nearly died. I couldn't take it. I'm scared even now. Everyone I love just seems to get hurt."

"And then there's me, running away from my own pain, and the only person who doesn't hurt to be around is you." I reached up and rubbed at her cheeks, 'removing' the tears she didn't shed anywhere but in her heart. "We both keep away from others, being polite, friendly even, but never actually letting people close."

"I can say it's to be the Empress, but no, you're right. It's just that I'm scared." She laughed hollowly. "I'm also scared of what others will say if they learn what I'm really thinking. Boah is already talking about political marriages for me, you know? To bolster Archanea's reputation."

"Do I need to put a muzzle on the old man?"

"Diana!" This time, her laughter was surprised, but bright. "No, don't do that."

"Are you sure? I will." I remembered the promise I made to her, after she'd told me of Artemis's Curse. "After all, when we see Camus again, if you love him and he loves you, I will drag him to our side, kicking and screaming if I must." I reached up to grasp the hands braiding my hair. "I'm your guard. It's my job to protect you, even from supposedly helpful advisors."

"I remember." Her sweet smile told me how much she appreciated it. "But because you must protect me from everything, that also means you wish to protect me from yourself as well."

"That's a good way to summarize it." It was actually a perfect way to summarize it. I wanted to protect her from how toxic our friendship could become. I wanted to protect _both_ of us from that. "So…"

"So, I should make more of an effort to befriend some of the others, and let them through my wall. Like… Caeda. That girl never judges anyone." Nyna's smile softened. "And others. I can properly reconnect with Jeorge, for instance. I only really interact with him because he comes over to flirt with you."

"Meanwhile, I need to try and connect with people myself." I had little to no interactions with _anyone_ outside of Nyna, and the few I did actively sought _me_ out. "I can't be scared of losing them like I did the Wolf Pack, or being betrayed like with my blood parents."

"Yes, that's precisely what we need to do." She went back to braiding my hair, and I let go of her hands to curl up more under the blankets. "However, you are my best friend, and that's not changing." Nyna suddenly looked very serious, even if she poked my cheek playfully. "And I want no one else as my guard. That's still okay, right?"

"I think so." I smiled slightly, relieved. I wasn't sure if I should be, but I couldn't help it. "And I think that, maybe, it's okay if I'm the only one who knows _all_ your secrets. Like Camus." Explaining Camus would take more time and effort than either of us were willing to put up with just yet. Maybe later, but not now. "But we can't be each other's sole reason for living. Not anymore."

"As otherwise, we'll just end up as this strange unit-person, and… and if nothing else, my authority as Empress might be compromised. To say nothing of our mental healths." She frowned a little. "It'll be strange."

"But you've got some friends back, like Jeorge and Midia. And I just have to make new ones." Easier said than done, but for her sake and mine, I would. I couldn't keep running away. I could justify it all I wanted, say it was all for Nyna's sake, but in reality, a lot of it was me trying to escape more pain. I needed to become better if I was to protect her. As I had told Kris, it wasn't strength alone that saved a person. I had to live up to my own advice. "You know I love you though, right?"

"Yes, and that's exactly why you worried. I love you too, by the way." She laughed, looking lighter than she had in a long while. Not since we escaped from Archanea and ran to Aurelis. "So, today, you're going to let me spoil you!"

"Ugh, fine." I made a face, just to make her laugh even more, and I relaxed a bit as she fussed over me.

The next few weeks, months even, were going to be awkward for us, likely. But it was needed. For both of our sakes. And it was time I looked after _both_ of us, not just Nyna.

* * *

 _Notes on Athena:_

 _A female myrmidon of unknown age, who is clearly not from around here._

 _A skilled swordsman, decent in battle. She holds her own well, which is good, since she likes keeping to herself._

 _She is very vocal and blunt, but ultimately a kindhearted person. She's weird as all hell, though, and I cannot figure out her accent at all._

* * *

Author's Notes: So the manakete from the previous map was moved to off-screen here and there is actually a manakete on the map too, though it doesn't approach until you do. I think this is the first time I've written a first person view of using the Warp staff, which is _absurdly_ broken in FE1/11 (lets you transport to _any_ square, much like FE5 actually). Midia and the others being set up for execution comes from the manga, though you do have the implication of it in game, thanks to the units that spawn near. Also, have lots of introspection for Diana, and some callbacks to her first two chapters. And introspection for Nyna too.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Millenium Palace


	22. Interlude - Millenium Palace

Interlude - Millenium Palace

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _We have Archanea. We have actually liberated a country that had been taken over by Dolhr. Even better, we killed two dragons. It's amazing! We're amazing!_

 _So, why do I still feel absolutely lame and wretched?_

* * *

The problem with avoiding Marth as much as possible was that I had to avoid _bunches_ of other people. We'd been in Archanea for a few days now, working on reconstructing everything and rallying more to join our army, and I've successfully managed to avoid him. But that was only by avoiding most everyone, so I felt horribly lonely. On the bright side, though, I found lots of secret hiding places where I could listen to other people. That kept me up to date with everything, and even learned some things that others wanted to keep from Marth.

"How can someone be in two places at once?" I mused aloud as I walked along the edge of a roof above the market. I'd darted out here after overhearing Hardin and Wolf talking about a strange thing. "Camus the Sable is supposed to be on a short leash, and rumors paint him there. How can he also be leading expeditions?" But that's what the rumors said. The Sable Order, Grust's military pride and joy, had several victories around Altea and Gra, and they said that Camus, so skilled and illustrious that he was called 'The Sable' after the legendary order, had led them to victory. At the same time, though, the rumors put him within Grust's borders, by his king, because Medeus didn't trust him anymore. "Nothing is making sense…"

Laughter made me pause, and I looked down to see Nyna was actually out and about in town too, happily greeting some children. I would've thought she'd be standoffish, but she had a bright smile on her face as she knelt down and accepted their hugs. Diana wasn't with her, for once, but that knight named Midia and Jeorge. Jeorge joined in on the play easily, though Midia seemed awkward, as if she didn't know what to do when children smiled at her.

I crouched on the edge of the roof, watching them. There was a familiarity among the children, hinting that Nyna used to do this a lot, when she lived here. I wondered if it was a thing she did before the war, or if it's something she picked up afterwards. It was easy to imagine her and Diana just walking through the market. But then again, it was hard to imagine Nyna without Diana, which made their sudden bits of separation strange. Even stranger was that Diana had actually started talking to people. It was weird, but it was kinda funny watching Jeorge look all disgruntled when she blew him off to talk to someone else.

I had a feeling he wasn't just flirting, but Diana was oblivious for whatever reason. It was almost as fun as watching Marth and Caeda. I wondered when the other shoe would drop. _That_ would be funny.

I shook my head and hopped back onto my feet, walking along the roofs again. But as I jumped from one roof to the next, something caught my eye. Someone with gold hair, and it held my attention because I'd only seen _one_ person in the whole damn city with that specific shade of hair: Diana. But this wasn't Diana. Diana wasn't that tall, for starters, and I'd never seen her wear black, and this person did. I crouched down again, this time watching the person closely, and I saw how secretively they looked around.

They darted down an alleyway. I followed them along the roof until I ran out of room, at which point I jumped down and continued following. I turned a corner, though, and found myself looking at the point of a lance. I jumped back, reaching into my pocket, and the person shifted into a stance, holding his lance with a subtle ease.

"Well, I thought I'd be dealing with a Dolhr spy, not a thief," they whispered. Now that I had a better look, I guessed they were a man. He was dressed richly in blacks and golds, and the lance glinted silver in the sunlight. "Do I look so easy of a target?"

"You look so suspicious of a target," I retorted, feeling for my 'little gift' in my pocket. If I threw it, I'd have enough time to scream for help. "You should wear a cloak or something. You stand out with the hair."

"Yes, I imagine there aren't many Grustians around here. Gold hair is far too rare outside of our borders." He shrugged, still completely nonchalant, and I spared a moment to wonder if that meant Diana was from Grust. "So, what do you plan to do, little miss thief? I thought thieves looked for 'easy' targets."

"I'm not a thief anymore. I'm part of the Altean Army." I gripped my 'little gift' tightly, even as I glowered. "And _you_ are suspicious."

"So I am." He nodded, smirking slightly. "But there is only one of you, and you appeared unarmed. I am not. What do you plan to do?"

"I don't suppose we can just have you come with me." I pulled my hand out of my pocket, tensing as I prepared to throw it. "Well?"

"The answer is obvious, correct?" He shifted his footing, and looked damn well prepared to skewer me. "So, do you run? Do you try to fight?"

"I'm not sure you're going to let me run." So, really, at this point, I just hoped someone appeared. But the chances of that happening, so conveniently, were so insignificant, that I could almost-

"What's going on?" Against all hopes and logic, though, someone did appear. Diana stepped out from the shadows, carrying a basket full of goods, and gave us a suspicious look. "Looks like Jeorge was right in that he thought he saw something," she murmured, shifting her basket so that she could draw her sword. "And here I thought I could buy presents in peace." She came to stand next to me, and gave the man, in particular, a weird look. "Wait, Camus…?" She frowned, and then glared, passing me her basket to better prepare to strike. "No, you're not Camus. Who the hell are you, and why are you wearing his uniform?"

"You must be Diana, if you figured it out that quickly," the man replied. He relaxed and brought his lance to his side, smiling charmingly. "My name is Sirius. I was hoping to run into you. Might we talk?"

Why did things always go weird with me?

* * *

Diana agreed to talks, and led the way to an abandoned house not far away. I insisted on coming with her, and she insisted that all weapons be left by the door. While she and Sirius obeyed that little 'order', I kept my 'little gifts', and she gave me an approving smile as she sat down at one dust covered chair. The man, Sirius, sat across from her, and I perched myself awkwardly on a dusty and stained kitchen counter, kicking my feet as I watched them size each other up in silence.

I looked around the house, trying to get a read for it, but there was next to nothing. There was dust. There was dirt. There was basic furniture, including a bed without blankets. There was a musty, molded smell. Whoever had once lived here, they'd apparently managed to gather their things before they left. I wondered where they had run too. I wondered if they were alive.

"You never answered my question," Diana finally murmured, breaking the silence first. She sat with perfect poise, and watched him critically, evaluating every single twitch. "Why are you wearing Camus's uniform?"

"I can answer that with your second question, which I have little doubts would be 'how I know you'," Sirius replied. He shrugged, perfectly relaxed. He even smiled. "I'm Camus's twin brother."

"Oh?" Diana looked so completely calm, which stopped my own yelp. "I'm afraid he never mentioned you. Then again, I was a little too in my head to ask about his home."

"And not all of the soldiers he commands are loyal solely to him. There were spies, and he knows how much I dislike fighting." He shrugged, uncaring. "I like people in power forgetting I exist. I lived in our home village by the sea, fishing and hunting, and generally pretending the war didn't exist. Sadly, his actions made our wonderful fool of a king remember that I did, in fact, exist, and offer my services to Dolhr to sow confusion as an additional reason to keep my dear, sweet older brother alive.."

"So, Camus is kept on a short leash, but you go around pretending to be him, keeping morale up and confusing our information."

"Precisely." He smirked. "It's almost clever. They even have Camus and I acting as each other's hostages. If I do something, he suffers a fate worse than death. If he misbehaves, I'm on the chopping block." He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "So, that's why I wear his uniform. I don't know how he stands it. It's scratchy. I want my cotton."

"I'm so sorry to hear of your discomfort." Diana's tone implied she wasn't sorry at all, and I bit back a snicker, unable to help it. "Though, I do remember how he didn't _always_ wear it."

"Lucky him." He made a face, and Diana relaxed enough to genuinely smile. "Well, regardless, I'm impressed you figured out I wasn't him so quickly. He warned me that would be the case, but still. I thought I'd be able to trick you for at least half-a-mark."

"Well, I'm afraid I lived with him for a year and a half, so I was able to pick out the physical differences between you, such as how you have some freckles on your cheek. The complete lack of self-hatred also gave you away." She paused as Sirius burst into bright, rich laughter. "So, how is he? You hear rumors."

"Alive, which is better than expected. Hating himself, which is to be expected. Worrying himself to death, which is also to be expected." Sirius shrugged, his cheer fading. "He doesn't smile much anymore. It's like you two took his smiles with you. I wonder if I can steal them back."

"You may try, but that will require you capturing Nyna and me, and you will find I am not one to willingly be shackled." Diana's smile was perfectly polite. I found myself weirded out by how 'friendly' this conversation was. "Well, what brought you to Archanea? Certainly not to simply talk to me."

"No, I just happened to be near, thanks to some unexpected free time. Camus needs to be noticeably visible at some big fancy meeting in Dolhr, meaning I can't be seen. I thought I'd take a look around and see if I can make Camus smile with some good news." He stood up then, shrugging. "I'd hoped to also see you and Princess Nyna, but I'm glad to be lucky enough to find one of you. I've used up all of my allotted time, I believe. My Dolhr watchdogs will infiltrate before long, and I'd rather the civilians here not have to deal with that. You have enough to worry about."

"Yes, we have pockets of resistance still." Diana shrugged, remaining seated. "It was lovely talking with you."

"It was lovely meeting you." Sirius bowed with a little flourish. "Do you have a message for Camus? I'll be seeing him soon."

"Tell him that Nyna and I are fine, and that I owe him some drinks, _and_ I haven't forgotten my promise, so he'd better watch out." Diana grinned. "He'll know what I'm talking about. He'll probably be very exasperated."

"I adore exasperating him." Sirius laughed, and he bowed again, this time a little more sincerely. He also turned to me and winked. "A pleasure meeting you as well, Little Miss Thief. Thank you for stopping me. I might not have had this lovely conversation if not."

He walked out then, taking his lance with him. Diana remained where she was, laughing softly to some joke only she seemed to know, and I debated whether or not I should ask some of the thousands of questions running through my head. But then I decided that, since I was caught up in this, I had the right to ask _some_ questions.

"So, what was that about?" I asked her. Diana didn't answer, but she did turn her attention my way. "I mean… you talked so calmly, friendly even, about Camus. And, you know, it was a _little_ weird."

"I suppose it was," she agreed. She remained silent a bit longer, as if mentally debating something, before nodding. "Well, I can't tell you everything." She leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, and folded her hands in her lap. "Sorry, but some things are just not mine to tell."

"Well, duh, I figured that out." I frowned, feeling like a child for some reason. It was her gaze. She waited for me to make the guesses, and determined just what she would say, based on what I figured out. "But, I mean… you don't use his title. Camus, I mean. You use titles for _everyone_ else. But not him, and there's no nickname, like for your enemies. No one else noticed, but I did."

"I see." She watched me closely, and I was reminded of when we first met. I was reminded even more so when she smiled slowly. "Well, what's your guess?"

"...My guess is that you don't see him as an enemy." My voice was quiet. I was right. She wasn't going to say anything unless I happened to be right. "My guess is that he's even a friend? But he's on the enemy side."

"Just like how Navarre was with your enemies? Like Roger, and that Jake fellow? I believe Davros and Castor were also recruited from your enemies?" She shrugged, still smiling. "Is it so odd that there are good people on the enemy side?"

"He's a leader."

"So was Minerva."

"There was a hostage."

"Do you think Princess Maria is the _only_ hostage?" She waited for me to answer, but I didn't have one. "I believe I told everyone about the Grustian Royal Twins." She had. I remembered that now. She had done it absentmindedly, while we were thinking of other things, but she had. "Yes, I consider Camus a friend, though one I am well aware that I might have to kill. Thankfully, I'm a mercenary. I'm rather used to friends one day, enemies the next."

"But why are you _still_ friendly?"

"Do you not still consider Prince Marth a friend, even though you avoid him?" She waited again, and this time I winced. She was right; I did. I wasn't sure if he thought the same anymore, but I did. "Besides, Nyna would've died if not for him protecting her. She and I escaped with his help. He's even why we have the Fire Emblem." She shrugged, smiling ruefully. "I'm surprised more people didn't question it, but I suppose my lucky feats of badassness made me seem tougher than I really am." She stood then and stretched, squeaking a little as something popped. "Regardless, we just got some information that really needs to make it to our lovely leaders."

"Yeah, I suppose." I groaned, glowering a bit. That was a definite end to the conversation, and I didn't like that. There were still so many questions running through my head. "That's seems awfully convenient, though, having a back-up twin."

"I doubt Camus and Sirius find it very convenient. Sirius is nothing more than a prop to them, and Camus is suffering additional guilt of chaining his brother to his own fate." She shrugged, already heading for the door. Only the stiffness in her posture hinted she had any sort of feelings over their situation. "Come on. We'll be missed."

"I'm coming." I sighed, and jumped off the counter. "Ugh, this day sucks."

"I'll make you some tea when we get back." She picked up her sword, and her basket, from by the door, and headed out. I trailed after her, frowning at her back as a few very specific questions bubbled to the forefront, questions I knew she wouldn't answer.

Was keeping secrets at this point really protecting anything? If so, who was she protecting Nyna _from_?

* * *

Diana offered to tell Hardin, Nyna, and Marth the information we picked up after serving me some very delicious tea. I thought it was her way of apologizing for getting me caught up in that little bit of insanity, since she had been a big advocator for me talking with Marth and this would've been a great excuse to force me into it. I accepted her offer and took to hiding in the gardens. I wished I'd picked a different spot, though. I really wished I did.

"Well, it seems like he's having fun," I muttered sulkily, glowering at the corner of the gardens I could see. Marth was there, laughing with Merrick. "I suppose that just shows me, huh?" I shouldn't be mad. I should be glad he was happy. I should be glad he had listening. But I was annoyed and hurt anyway. Emotions sucked. Emotions were lame. "Ugh, whatever." I jumped down from my perch on top of a gazebo, their laughter chasing after me like guard dogs nipping at my heels. I ducked behind some shrubs to make sure no one saw me, and then I skirted the edges of the garden, intending on heading inside to find some other hiding place. But I was so distracted by my sulking that I didn't pay attention to in front of me, only behind to make sure Marth and Merric hadn't noticed me. So, I ended up literally running into someone.

I squeaked and stumbled back, and whoever I ran into caught me. That catching was actually my only clue that I hadn't run into a freaking wall, since whoever I had run into was _built_. Of course, when I looked up, I discovered the person was Cain, so that wasn't any surprise.

"Kris?" he called. I stepped away from him, and looked around for some sort of escape. Unfortunately, I didn't really find one that didn't involve pushing past him. "There you are. I've been looking for you all day." He paused. "Or, rather Prince Marth was. He was really depressed."

"Didn't seem that way to me," I mumbled. I kicked a stone, trying to determine if I could dart under his arm before he had a chance to snag me. "Well, you found me. I'm still around. So, if you don't mind-"

"I do mind." His voice was flat, and he looked unamused when I glanced up. "Prince Marth wants to talk to you."

"And, so, my own wants don't matter?" My own voice went dry. "Fantastic. I'm sure that's exactly what our silly prince is thinking. Good job."

"Just come with me."

"Nope. I don't want to."

"Are you still mad at me?"

"I wasn't, but you're reminding me that I was." I glowered now, remembering _that_ wonderful bit of annoyance. "I still can't believe you were just going to leave me pinned there."

"That… is a discussion for another time."

"And whatever you want to talk about with Marth is also a discussion for another time." I tried to go around him, but he caught my arm. I jerked it out of his grip, now glaring. "You don't get to decide what can and cannot be talked about on your own. I get my own choices too. I don't blindly follow anything."

"You seem to blindly follow your own emotions." Cain's voice was flat again, and he looked exasperated. "I don't see why you're allowed to think you're worthless because we got two more mages, while the rest of us are constantly bombarded by others of similar skills and roles, and have to make do."

"Oh, please, it's not like you're in danger of being _replaced_." The army always needed an idiot to take hits.

"Because I train and continue to make myself useful instead of sulking and skulking and making our prince miserable."

"Yes, you train, and then you go charge off recklessly through the front lines, and make pretty boy miserable _that_ way." Well, I didn't have proof of that, but it seemed likely, and his wince hinted I hit a nerve. "But sure, whatever, I'm the stupid one. So, in your oh-so-infinite wisdom, just what do _you_ success?"

"If you're so worried about not having magical power, then do something they'd never be able to do." He glowered finally, instead of looking exasperated. "You're far more athletic than them, so take up the way of a blade. If you've the courage that is, since you don't even have the courage to talk to a friend."

"I'm not a coward!" I bristled, incensed. After everything I faced, after all the fear I had suffered and endured, being called a coward just made my temper crackle. It burned all the more because this was someone who was _normally_ rather understanding! "Fine! I'll do it! And you're going to teach me! You're not getting out of it!"

"And you're not getting out of lessons." He now almost looked smug and I wanted to kick him so damn much. "I'll see you at dawn on the practice field."

"Fine!" I stomped off, knocking his arm to the side, growling several curses under my breath. I'd show him. I'd show him that I was going to keep going, damn him and everyone else!

Some distant part of me wonder if he'd baited me and I'd fallen for a trap, but the rest of me didn't care if that was the case. I was just thoroughly pissed off, and I'd make him regret using my temper against me. I'd make him regret _everything_ to get back at him!

* * *

Author's notes: No, Camus doesn't have a twin in game. Yes, Sirius is the name of an FE3/12 character. I'm having a little fun. Cain's comment on 'replacements' stems from how there are a _lot_ of cavaliers and paladins in Fe1/11 (there are around nine playable ones at this point in the story, discounting the sacrificed Frey, with one more potential recruit in a few chapters), while there are only two playable mages in game (Merric and Linde).

Next Chapter - A Traitor's Worth


	23. Chapter 10x) A Traitor's Worth

Chapter 10x) A Traitor's Worth

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _After taking back the palace, we sent out various groups to deal with pockets of resistance. Within the course of a month, we freed most of Archanea, except the west. It was soon becoming clear that we'd have to mount a full assault to deal with the enemies there, but Nyna hoped dearly that it wouldn't be the case. It was just a matter of time before we figured out which side won out._

* * *

It almost amused me that after deciding to branch out and be sociable, Nyna and I kept getting in situation where the two of us were alone in her room to complain and grumble and generally act as we did before. My worry won out, though, since it meant our coping mechanisms needed more work. That said, today, I couldn't begrudge her. She was grumbling about Camus, after all, and I was still the only one in the army who knew _why_ she was grumbling instead of, say, screaming.

"I cannot believe he never mentioned it!" she ranted, pacing and flailing about. I had to fight to keep from snickering. "A twin! _A twin!_ You'd think it would come up!"

"Clearly not," I 'helpfully' replied. She shot me a glare, but I ignored it to arrange the flowers she'd gotten from the children today in a vase. "Sorry?"

"You are not!" She huffed. "Now I'm wondering if-"

"Nope. Trust me. You'd tell the difference."

"Oh, good." She glanced to the side sheepishly, and I nearly fell over from laughing when I realized that had been a _legitimate concern_. "Don't laugh so hard! It's not that funny!"

"Yes it is!"

"You're horrible!" She stomped her foot, like a child, but her sulky anger faded after a moment. "Still, we weren't… they could've have _all_ been spies." She sighed and sat down at last. "Why didn't he say anything then?"

"...Well, and now keep in mind, this is going to be just a theory…" I set the vase on the table, and fussed a bit more with the flowers. "But perhaps he didn't want to talk about family around two girls whose families… he was at least indirectly involved with killing."

"That…" Nyna laughed then, a horribly bitter sound. "That sounds like him. It really does. He _did_ kill your brother, didn't he?"

"Charles died from an arrow shot by one of the Sable Order. He used the last of his strength to distract Camus and the rest of the soldiers so that I could set the room on fire." I stepped back from the flowers and looked at her. "Camus would view it as killing him, but I don't really. Indirectly at worst."

"I suppose." She sighed and rested her head on the table. "I keep forgetting he killed people I grew up with. He was just so…"

"Him. He was him. You fell in love with the person, because you could see how much he hated himself for the actions." I ruffled her hair, smiling as she made a face. "Camus is a good man on the wrong side, and he's too prideful, honorable, and self-pitying to step away. Among other things."

"True." She smiled back. "Maybe if you run into Sirius again, you can ask him for help getting Camus to us."

"Unfortunately, I fear that I will have to drag Camus myself, but I'm sure Sirius would be _delighted_ to assist however he can. He's rather vexed at us for stealing Camus's smiles, but I think he'll forgive us if we promise to give them back."

"...I want to see him again." She sighed again. "You'd think the feelings would fade. But they just grow stronger. I miss him. I miss the days we spent here."

"So do I." I smiled sadly. "But we can't go back. It was good for getting our bearings, but not for actually healing. Certainly not for making the world better."

"Which I, as Empress of Archanea, am obligated to do." She paused and glanced up at me. "Can I run away?"

"You'd hate to run away and leave it all on Marth." I rested a hand on her back. "If, in a couple of years, after this war ends, you wish to leave, though, know that I will stay and support you. Not because I am your guard, but because you are my friend. But I will want you to think on it, and decide if you're simply running away, or if you are absolutely miserable. And talk to more than just me about it, _if_ you think that."

"I love you." She smiled sweetly, and I knew the real meaning behind the words. She appreciated how I didn't dismiss it out of hand, but also didn't _completely_ encourage her. "Oh, right, speaking of love…" She sat up then. "What is with you and Jeorge?"

"Nothing." My answer was fast. Too fast, perhaps. "He's not serious."

"Really?" She frowned a little. "Are you sure?"

"...He's never serious about anything but his duty to you, Nyna." I smiled, and I hoped it wasn't bitter. Her concerned look told me it was. "That's…"

"But do you? Love him, I mean."

"...I purposely don't try to think on that, since I know it will only lead to heartbreak." I shrugged. "Which probably is an answer in of itself, but I'm denying it."

"..." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "I thought you promised to not run away…"

"I'm not. I'm just…" I sighed, shaking my head. "I'm also not going to just walk into something I know will hurt if there's nothing I can get from the pain, you know?"

"..." Nyna frowned. "But that's…" A knock on the door interrupted her. "Come in?"

"Sorry to bother you." The door opened to reveal Midia. "You two gave me strict orders to come fetch you if you were alone for the better part of a mark," she reminded. Nyna and I glanced at each other and playfully made faces. "Do I need to pretend I didn't see the candle go down?"

"No, in fact, you have _excellent_ timing!" Nyna explained, twisting in her chair to face her. I groaned as I figured out what was going on, and Midia looked super intrigued, if confused. "I'm asking Diana about Jeorge, and she's being evasive."

"Oh, I've been wondering myself." Midia smiled, giggling a little. "You know… they'd made a beautiful couple, right?"

"If we're talking just looks, then of course. Both are far too good looking."

"They really are. And they're fun to watch."

"They are!"

"I'm right here!" I complained. I rolled my eyes when both just grinned at me. "Gods, you're making a big deal out of nothing."

"Who says there's 'nothing'?" Midia half-demanded. Her eyes danced too much, though. " _I_ think there's something, and I think between the three of us here, I am the authority on love."

"Says the girl who challenged Astram to a duel when they first met and then cried when he sent her flying across the room!"

"Now how do you know about _that_?"

"Astram panicked like crazy because he always freaks out when people cry, and wrote Charles, wondering what the hell he should do. I stole the letter because it was from Astram."

"Well, that doesn't matter _. I'm_ the one with a lover here." She pretended to be haughty, and Nyna and I both laughed. "So…" Another knock interrupted her, but this time, the person didn't wait to open the door, revealing a very serious-faced Jeorge. "...I was about to say excellent timing, but clearly, something is wrong." Midia stood, her own cheer falling. ""What is it?"

"It's the west," he explained. He turned his attention to Nyna, who had slipped on her Empress stoicism again. "The last pocket of resistance has been found. It's Horace."

Well, there went the happy times in a heartbeat.

* * *

We held a War Meeting immediately, and Nyna haltingly explained to everyone how Horace _had_ been a knight of Archanea, but he had betrayed and given Camus extensive knowledge of the castle, allowing for such a quick takeover. Nyna had _tried_ to ask for clemency or something, but the knights in the group clamored for Horace's blood, incensed by the betrayal, and so, Nyna had left it to Prince Marth and her knights. She remained behind to tend to some administrative tasks, mostly paperwork. Which Princess Caeda promptly kidnapped her from.

"Ah, Diana, you make the best tea~" Princess Caeda squealed, sipping her tea. She hummed a little as she also popped a pastry, her own contribution to the little meal. "I'm surprise that you claim you can't really cook, though."

"I can make edible things, but it's a mercenary's cooking, which is even worse than soldier's," I replied, refilling Minerva's cup of tea. She gave me a thankful smile in return before going back to devouring her pastry. Amusingly, she'd eaten the most of the three princesses. She had a _huge_ sweet tooth. "My edible is different from yours, I promise."

"I swear I'd eaten your cooking, but maybe it was someone else's and I just thought it was yours since you do things like sew and fuss over my clothes," Nyna laughed. She smiled and relaxed, looking better than she had during the War Council. I wondered if that was why Princess Caeda had suddenly insisted on a tea party with the three of them. "I still can't get over the grey incident."

"It looked _horrible_ on you." I frowned heavily, just to make her laugh again, and then side-eyed what Minerva was wearing. "Speaking on what looks bad on people…"

"Leave my clothes alone," Minerva immediately protested. Her voice was muffled because of the pastry she was eating. "I like them."

"The color doesn't suit you," I said, scrutinizing it now. "Blues, reds… well, not red. Red _does_ look good on you, but it gives the impression that you're covered in blood. Useful for a battlefield, but not so much off it. Blue would look marvelous on you, actually. Same with green." I hummed a little, thinking now. "White would look good as well, but that's more of Maria's thing…"

"Oh, gods, she's serious, isn't she?" Minerva groaned as Nyna nodded. "Kill me now. I hate dealing with fashion."

"Then don't. I'll deal with it for you. And Princess Caeda too." I turned my stern gaze on her, and almost smiled as she squeaked. "Though, I must say. Your clothing is very nice. It can be better, though…"

"You've unleashed the beast!" Nyna teased, giggling. She relaxed even more, and both Princess Caeda and Minerva exchanged surprised, yet happy, looks. "She's like this every morning with me."

"I gave up on letting you pick your own clothes when you said those two dresses looked alike," I instantly retorted. I gave her a playful glare and she laughed. "They weren't."

"They were both light grey."

"One was silver and the other was more of a medium." I huffed and headed for closet. "Here. I'll show you."

"Please don't. But maybe you can find clothes that will suit Caeda and Minerva better?"

"That is a good idea, actually." I laughed when Minerva and Princess Caeda groaned. "Can I borrow some paper from your desk?"

"Go ahead."

"Thanks~" I jumped to the desk instead, ignoring how Minerva and Princess Caeda complained. I was having fun, and I wouldn't actually force anything on them. Steal some of their clothes, perhaps, but not actually force anything on them.

While I hunted for a piece of blank paper, or at least a piece of paper that didn't look important, I found a stack of old letters. I didn't really intend on reading them, but one was open, dated to just before Altea fell, and my curiosity got the best of me. I picked up up and scanned the words, noticing that the writing was very beautiful, but it had little crossed out words and blots here and there, suggesting a very casual correspondence. It talked of some lands and harvests, hunting and herds. It described trade within the nearby villages, and mentioned a gift sent with it, a present from a village woman.

I felt horribly sad when I reached the signature and saw the name: 'Your faithful servant, Horace'.

"What are you looking at, Diana?" Nyna asked, drawing me from the letter. I glanced down at it and held it up as a silent answer. "Oh, right, I stored letters there. Who is that from?"

"Horace," I answered. Her smile immediately faltered. "He wrote you, huh?"

"Yes." She sighed, and drooped a little in her chair. Princess Caeda immediately passed her another pastry, which made her smile again. "I'm sorry. I should be firm in my resolve, yet…"

"I must work every day to keep my resolve to fight against my brother, even though I know it is best for Macedon," Minerva reassured. She smiled gently. "If he wrote you personal letters, then it's clear you two were close."

"Horace used to spend a lot of time in court as his father's representative," Nyna whispered. She absently picked at the pastry, eating it in tiny bits and shredding the rest. "He spent most of his time in councils and the like, but he always made a point to give me a smile and a greeting. He and Jeorge got along well, actually, now that I'm remembering. They were both knights and their father's heirs. I'd hear them talk politics a lot."

"What happened?"

"Why did he betray? I don't know. He was always so loyal." She sighed. "Everyone screamed for his blood…"

"...Yeah, it sucks to rule. You're bound by the laws even more than the people."

"But with that said, you _are_ the ruler," Princess Caeda pointed out. She crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. "I think you need to make sure you're not a doormat, Princess Nyna. My father gave me lots of lessons, pointing out that female rulers often have to deal with 'well meaning advisors' who just want power for themselves, even if they coach it in selfless terms." She smiled sweetly, softening the rather cynical words. "You're already well loved. I'm sure that people will give your decisions a chance. You should decide what sort of ruler you want to be, Princess Nyna, and then stay consistent to that. And don't forget to be selfish!"

"...Royals are expected to be majestic," Minerva pointed out reluctantly. She looked like she'd bitten into a lemon, saying the words. "Not selfish."

"But you're human too. You need to remember to be that too, or otherwise, you're going to break!"

"I've a feeling this is a discussion for another time," I gently interrupted, mostly because Nyna was starting to squirm. She'd been dealing with Boah's 'helpful advice' all week. "Perhaps one with alcohol?"

"Are you _sure_ you're not from Macedon?" Minerva instantly asked, sparking a laugh from Princess Caeda and Nyna. "Philosophizing while drinking is exactly what we do."

"I think the hair gives me away." I grinned. "Same with the lack of alcohol tolerance. I'm one hell of a lightweight."

"Damn." She grinned back, and Princess Caeda and Nyna laughed again. "Well, whatever. Someone needs to be the sober judge."

"Don't remind me. That was my role whenever the Wolf Pack started their contests." It was a fight to keep the grin on my face at the memory. It hurt to remember. But I wouldn't… I wouldn't run away. "Regardless, letters?"

"Yes, letters," Nyna repeated, switching it back to the original topic. "His father died from an unexpected illness, so he had to leave court. But he wrote me lots of letters, teasing that it would help me prepare for reading reports when I took on more responsibilities. I'd probably know his handwriting anywhere, at this point." She paused, stilling. "...Know his handwriting…"

I wondered what the hell she was talking about, but then I froze as I caught the thought. "The letter Duke Hardin received…" My eyes widened, while Minerva and Princess Caeda looked _so_ confused. "You knew…"

"I did, but I was so tired and I'm sure it's gone, but…"

"Is there anyone else…?"

"Midia, Jeorge…" She shook her head. "No. No one that _could_ have gotten a letter out… not so _conveniently_ …!"

"Excuse me?" Minerva finally interrupted. She looked almost exasperated. "But what are you two going on about?"

"When we escaped, Duke Hardin was by the border because of a letter," I explained. I spoke quickly, the words almost tripping over themselves. "Nyna recognized the writing, but she got sick soon afterwards, and we never had time to follow up on it, but…"

"...You think Horace sent a letter…" Minerva's eyes widened and she stood up suddenly. "But, in that case, is it right to execute him?"

"By Archanean law, it would actually be illegal," Nyna confirmed. Her hands shook as she pushed herself up. "Ah, but how are we-"

"My wyvern is fast."

"So is my pegasus!" Princess Caeda volunteered. She jumped to her feet, eyes determined. "The four of us can catch up! Easily! Let's go, go, go!"

"Let's get armored and packed first," I insisted, cutting through the fervor. My mind was reeling. "Quickly. I'll handle food and water and the like. You get yourselves ready. We'll leave in half a mark, at the latest!"

If only I'd found that letter sooner, damn it!

* * *

On the map, it was a four day's hard ride to Horace's lands. By flight, it was two days, though Minerva's wyvern and Princess Caeda's pegasus were exhausted by the time we landed. In fact, they didn't even really 'make' the landing. More 'crashed with some grace'. The four of us got off quickly and pulled our packs off them to lessen the burden. I was the first one to recover and I looked around to see just where we landed. It looked to be a village not far from the castle, and I wished we'd gotten a little closer. In the distance, I could see the remnants of battle, mostly broken weapons, bodies, and blood, and everything here was eerily silent. I hoped we weren't too late.

"We need to get to the castle, Nyna," I called, turning back to look at the others. Nyna was brushing the front of her dress, smoothing out the wrinkles, while hovering awkwardly over Minerva and Princess Caeda's shoulders, frowning at the wyvern and pegasus. "Minerva, Princess Caeda, do you mind if we-"

"No, go on ahead," Minerva replied. She smiled reassuringly at us. "They'll be fine with some spoiling. But you two need to see if you can catch up."

"True." I held out my hand to Nyna, and she took it, though not without giving the others a worried look. "We'll see you soon." We took off then, straight through the village. We tripped up a couple of times since she and I had two very different speeds and two _very_ different levels of athleticism, but we kept on going. Someone's life was on the line, so now was not the time to be dignified. We could regain dignity _after_ we found out what was going on.

"Excuse me!" Of course, one time when we tripped, a little girl darted out of a nearby house. I caught the flicker of movement her, and thought that the girl had escaped her mother's clutches. "E-Empress Nyna?" she asked, running right on up and clinging to Nyna's skirts. "You're Empress Nyna, right?"

"I am," Nyna confirmed. She stroked the little girl's hair soothingly. "What is it?"

"P-please, save Lord Horace!" The little girl looked ready to cry. I was surprised she hadn't yet, actually. "Mama says that Dolhr would've killed us all if he didn't bend, and he's always so kind and gentle with us!"

"...Is that what happened?" Nyna crouched down and rested her hand on the little girl's cheek. I glanced around, and noticed some other villagers curiously poking their heads out of windows and doors, listening in while still trying to hide. "You were threatened, so he had to pick between his loyalty as a knight and his duty as a lord?"

"I… maybe?" She shook her head. "I don't know. But he's nice, and he's always been so sad, but I… please?" The tears fell. "There was something about razing the land from… from corner to corner if he didn't and… and…"!

"I'll do what I can. But Horace has to let me help him." She used her sleeve to wipe away the tears. "Do you know a fast way in the castle?"

"Yeah! My mama's a maid there!" She darted ahead a bit, and waved. "This way!"

This time, Nyna took off on her own, without waiting for me to offer my hand. When she tripped, she caught herself on her own and kept on running after the little girl. I followed her closely, glancing back only one to the villagers. I saw they'd stepped out of their homes to watch us run, and the hope in their eyes was almost painful to see.

The little girl led us to a side entrance, a servant's door, and led is inside, to the kitchens. From there, she led us to the Great Hall, where we _finally_ had some noise. Angry knights wearing variety of armors… a saddened Prince Marth standing to the side… a stoic Duke Hardin standing behind him… my focus was on the center, where Jeorge was aiming an arrow straight for a stranger's heart. The stranger was youngish, around Charles's age, and wore no armor. In fact, there was armor next to his feet, hinting he'd taken it off to make the impending execution easier. His eyes were closed, perfectly accepting of what was to come, while Jeorge's eyes burned with quiet anger, reminding me of how Nyna said he and Horace talked often together.

But no matter how angry everyone was, how accepting, Horace couldn't die yet. Not until Nyna talked to him. So, I pushed past Nyna and the little girl, putting all my strength into my legs, and lunged forward, throwing myself between Horace and Jeorge right as Jeorge released the arrow. His eyes widened and he jerked back, deflecting the arrow as much as he could as it flew. So, instead of catching me in head, it clipped my cheek instead. As silence fell again, I met his gaze calmly, expecting anger and annoyance. Instead, he looked… he actually looked _horrified_ , and I wondered why. But I didn't have time. I only had heartbeats until the shock turned to rage, and there were few things more insane than the rage of people who thought justice was taken from them.

"Some new information about Horace has come to light," I softly explained to everyone. I turned to look at Horace, who had an almost hilariously confused expression by this point. I supposed that made sense, seeing as a crazy girl he'd never seen before just stopped his execution. "Nyna would like to speak to you to confirm it."

"Indeed, I would." Nyna stepped up then, smoothing the front of her skirt. She'd taken her hair out of her normal ponytail sometime between my lunge and now, likely to hide how mussed it was. It gave her a softer impression, but there was still something regal about her. "It's been a while, Horace," she whispered. Her expression was stoic, but I saw the warmth in her eyes as I moved to stand just behind her. I glanced back and saw the little girl ducked behind a pillar, watching with wide eyes. "I am pleased to see you yet live."

"...You honor me too much with your concern, your majesty," Horace whispered. He lowered his head. "Especially given what I did."

"Yes, you turned against Archanea. You gave information to our enemies. Though, I do have to wonder, even now, how convenient it was that you gave information to the only enemy who would not kill me on sight." Nyna kept her voice even and calm. "I must admit to being hurt when I learned, however, what you did. I was also horrifically confused, and it was only when a trusted friend reminded me of the perils of loyalty did I even begin to understand." She smiled slightly, just slightly. I glanced around and saw that everyone in the room was damn _captivated_ by her. "But a village girl told me. Dolhr threatened your people. They were going to raze the entire countryside, unless you bent knee to them. Your oaths came in conflict; the loyalty that defines you became a noose around your neck. And thus, you had to choose."

"And I chose against my country, breaking my knightly oaths." Horace's voice shook slightly, and I took advantage of my shorter stature to actually get a look at his face. Raw pain and self loathing that rivaled Camus's. It had nearly killed him to make the choice. "I will not dress up my sins as kindnesses."

"Even if they really were kind? Fine." Nyna's eyes narrowed as her smile disappeared again for stoicism. "We shall play the harsh game, then. You say you will not dress up your crimes? _I_ say you shall not run away from them either. I order no knight's death for you. Instead, I condemn you to live a traitor's life."

"Princess Nyna…!" Horace jerked his head up in shock, and he wasn't the only one surprised. I heard quite a few gasps from the group around us. Duke Hardin's jaw even dropped, though Prince Marth looked particularly elated. "You… wish for me to live?"

"You did all you could to protect your people. That was honorable, Horace, and it is far more than my father did." Nyna's expression softened for a smile, a wider one than before. "But if you die, no one will remember you for anything but your betrayal. Your _one_ act of betrayal. They would not even remember that you sent a message to Duke Hardin telling him of my escape, ensuring that I would find safety as soon as possible." Duke Hardin jerked back in surprise at that. I flashed him a grin. "Your people will have to bear that weight. Your soldiers, that shame. Is that really justice? I don't think so."

"...I…" Horace started laughing, shaking his head in disbelief. "I have no idea what to say."

"I have claimed your life, Horace. You have no say." Nyna's expression became regal again. "Starting today, you will prove to the world that there was meaning behind your actions. You will show everyone a traitor's worth. You shall fight with us, and you will not die. I forbid it."

"...Very well, your majesty." Horace knelt slowly, bowing his head. "As you command, my empress."

I had no idea which part of this was the best. The resulting cheers from his soldiers, the way the little girl threw herself at Nyna's legs again for a hug and a laugh, or the looks of total awe and respect our own soldiers gave Nyna. But, maybe the best part was just… Nyna, herself. She proved with this just what sort of Empress she'd be, and gods, I couldn't be prouder of her.

* * *

When we had safely returned to Archanea Castle, and gotten to her room, Nyna decided to really let me have it.

"Why couldn't you just shout or something?!" Nyna demanded, actually swatting my shoulder. I playfully winced and whimpered, 'reeling' from the 'blow'. "Oh, don't even try! You've gone through way worse! Your ankle has only just healed!"

"Hey, it set the stage nicely!" I protested, laughing. The cut on my cheek was already scabbed, and I'd refused healing for it, so my face hurt a bit with the laughter. But I didn't care. "You were amazing, though. I don't think I've ever been so proud of anyone in my life."

"R-really?" She looked pleased for a split second before scowling again. "Wait, don't change the subject!"

"And, look on the bright side! Now there's a precedent for you to follow when we get Camus." I winked as she flushed. "Speaking of which, you should gather your courage to start telling others. Slowly."

"Right, I should." She sighed, whimpering a little. Then she sulked. "You changed the subject again!" She threw her hands up. "Oh, whatever! Don't use your body as a shield again! You might not like it, but _I_ do!"

"Are you hitting on me?"

"No!" She squeaked when someone knocked on the door and quickly sat down at her desk, pretending to be working, while I went to her closet to thumb through the dresses hanging there. "Come in."

"My pardon." The door opened to reveal Duke Hardin, and he looked almost confused as he took in Nyna 'working' at her desk, and me at the closet. "I… thought I heard yelling," he mumbled, glancing around the room. "What are you looking for, Diana?"

"Nyna was wondering if we should hold some sort of ball or something to celebrate Archanea's complete liberation," I 'explained'. She shot me a dirty look, before setting down her pen and giving Duke Hardin a polite smile. "It's just a seed of an idea, but I thought to look through her closet and see if she had any suitable dresses. We can't call for a tailor for anything more than a mending at the moment, of course."

"That… might be good for morale." He still looked confused, and shrugged. "Ah, I'm too much of a soldier at heart. I bow to your wisdom."

"Oh, marvelous. I'll handle your wardrobe too."

"Leave my clothes alone." He rolled his eyes when I grinned. "Regardless…" He bowed to Nyna. "Pardon me, your highness, but I came in here with the express purpose of scolding Diana."

"Oh, go ahead," Nyna replied instantly. I gave her a quick pout, and she flashed me a quick smile. "Perhaps she'll listen to you about not becoming a human shield."

"Yes, Diana, you have the _worst_ tendency for that. One would think you had a death wish," Duke Hardin sighed. I thought about protesting, but decided that I probably shouldn't. While I'd promised Charles I'd live, at this point, I could acknowledge that the promises I made to him, Nyna, and Camus were all that kept me alive for the last two years. It would be a good idea to break the habits that came with that mentality, slowly. "It gives the rest of us heart attacks. I think you've stolen literal years off my life."

"If you lose years of your life every time someone in this army is close to death, then you'll only have like three left," I retorted. I smiled as he rolled his eyes. "Oh, right. Been meaning to ask. Do you mind if I join in your morning drills?"

"Huh?" He looked confused for a split second before sighing. "Fine, we'll go with the change in subject. Yes, we'd love to have you. Maybe we can teach you how to actually get some defense, or at least better dodging."

"We'll see." I grinned. "Well, I'll be off to ask more about that ball, so I'll see you later!" I darted out, giggling as Duke Hardin yelped some sort of protest behind me. I slipped into a hidden passage, knowing that Duke Hardin would try to chase after me, and ducked into a different hall to escape. I'd sit down and have a proper talk/lecture with him later, but for the moment, I was in too good of a mood to give it the attention I knew it deserved.

"Diana?" A quiet voice made me stop, though, and my cheer faltered when I saw it was Jeorge. He hadn't spoken to me once on the trip back to the castle, and even now, he looked… a little exhausted. "What are you doing?" he asked. "And from that passage?"

"I'm escaping Duke Hardin," I explained, shrugging. I walked over to him, and the closer I got, the more tired he looked. Had he not slept? "And maybe preparing a ball that we used as a cover for our teasing."

"...A ball."

"First thing I thought out." I shrugged again. "It'll be fun. Maybe."

"Yeah." He sighed and his eyes fell on my cheek. "How… is it?"

"Hurts to smile, but not to the point where I don't want to do it anymore. Given how much I've laughed today, I might even be immune to it." I frowned. "You haven't been sleeping. What's wrong?"

"...You're seriously…" He sighed again, this time looking a little exasperated. "You are the most…" He trailed off, letting the words die as he brought his hand up and brushed his fingers over the scab. "Why did you jump in front of me then? I…" His hand faltered, lingering on my cheek. "I could've killed you."

"I knew you wouldn't." I shrugged, absently leaning into his touch. His eyes darkened a bit. "You're skilled and fast. I knew you'd divert it."

"Why didn't you just shout?"

"That makes too much sense?" I grinned up at him, but it faded when he continued to just… look like he was in a lot of pain. A lot of pain, and very tired. "Jeorge?"

"...I could've killed you. And you..." His eyes narrowed slightly, in a wince. "You just… laugh it off, and…" He sighed. "I suppose I can't quite get that. It's in my nightmares, and you…"

"..." I hesitated before reaching up and taking his hand in mine. Then, deliberately, I brought his hand over my chest, over my heart. "Feel that? That's my heartbeat. Still there. Still going strong." I shrugged again. "I know what ifs and all, but if you're wondering why I can just shrug it off? I'm a former mercenary. I've nearly died more times that I can count. I've had multiple near deaths since this war began. I'm used to shrugging it off. That's what being a mercenary is _like_. You can ask Ogma and Navarre to confirm it." I gripped his hand a little more tightly and stepped a little closer to better look him in the eye. "But I'm… sorry for inflicting that on you. Just because I knew you'd divert it doesn't mean you didn't experience the fear of 'what if'. Not everyone can shrug that off, and I forgot. I'm sorry."

"..." He sighed, and leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine. It had to be uncomfortable, since I was so much shorter, but he slowly relaxed, so I chose to just keep quiet. "Don't do that again. Ever."

"Okay."

"I mean it."

"I know." I smiled slightly. "Nyna and Duke Hardin scolded me too. I'll be extra careful."

"Good." He sighed, smiling in return at last. "Good."

"Smiles suit you far better than winces, by the way." My own smile widened. "Though, I'll admit. You're freaking out a lot more than I would've thought."

"What reaction did you expect?"

"Annoyance?" I shrugged. "I did interfere with what you thought was your duty at the time? And you likely had a personal grudge against Horace too, so..."

"...Duty isn't the only thing I'm serious about." His eyes were darker than normal, and they were focused completely on me. I felt a little breathless. "But if we want to phrase things as duty…" His smile this time was a little wry. "Killing Princess Nyna's best friend is really not something a knight should do."

"No, I suppose not." I looked down, unable to hold his gaze without risking a blush. "I think we've established that I'm a horribly reckless and stupidly lucky person though, so…"

"I suppose." He shifted to the side, and very deliberately kissed the cut on my cheek, lingering a little. My face heated up then, as if to match the heat of the kiss. "I'm going to patrol. I'm overdue."

"Yeah, have fun." I let go of his hand and stepped away, not quite looking at him. "I got to… do something… for Nyna."

"Right. Later." He sounded far too amused, and I managed to shoot a glare his way before he headed down the hall, looking far more chipper than he did before. While I couldn't quite resent him for that, since seeing him upset had _hurt_ , I did wish it wasn't at my expense.

...But why the hell… did he kiss my cheek? ...Oh, I had a bad feeling that I'd have to listen to Nyna saying 'I told you so~' a lot as soon as she found out. I really did.

* * *

 _Notes on Bantu:  
An elderly fire manakete, who is so old that he no longer even remembers his age_

 _According to him, he is quite weakened, excelling in only defensive maneuvers, and the recent dragon fight drained him significantly, leaving him unable to fight._

 _He traveled with a young dragon girl named 'Tiki', but was separated from her in the chaos. He worries greatly, and possibly for reasons other than what he's told us._

* * *

Author's note: So, this is another of the Shadow Dragon paralogues, meaning you have to be under a certain number of units to reach it. It's also probably the only chapter in the game where Nyna is _actually given something to do_ , and it's really cool!

Next Chapter - Interlude, Ball


	24. Interlude - Ball

Interlude - Ball

* * *

 _Archanea is 'fully' liberated after Diana was stupidly dramatic and reckless to make Nyna look better. Not that Nyna really needed to help, in my opinion. Then again, I don't know. I just know that this Horace guy surrendered and now there's going to be a stupid ball._

 _I've always hated balls. Everything was always too guarded during them, even the cities. You could never steal anything good._

* * *

"And… time for a break." Cain stepped back to dodge my weak flail of a swing and brought his practice sword to his side. I glowered at him and refused to relax. "Break now," he repeated, wiping the sweat off his face with his sleeve. "Ease up."

"I can keep going," I retorted, or tried to. The effect was marred by how heavily I was panting, though, and I knew it. My legs felt like jelly, and my arms felt like overcooked noodles. But I could still hold onto the practice sword, so I was going to continue being stubborn. "Let's go."

"Didn't you once tell me that just because you _can_ keep going, it doesn't mean you _should_?" He smiled slightly and turned away. "Besides, you're just standing because you're pigheaded."

"Screw you." I growled a couple curses under my breath, first at him, and then at myself for being so damn _lame_. "Ugh… WAH!" I yelped as something hit my face, and I snatch it off, discovering it was a towel. Cain was already at the side of our training area. "Can't you give me a towel like a normal person?"

"You're the one who told me to treat you like I would a fellow recruit." Almost absently, he pulled off his shirt and toweled himself off. As always, I found myself focusing on the scars that crisscrossed his torso, all that remained of the terrible wounds from the disastrous battle with Gra. Then I looked away before he realized I was staring. "You're doing well, though. You've a talent for bladework."

"Tell that to my screaming muscles." I sighed and started patting the sweat off me. After a moment, though, I growled and took off my shirt too. "It's too damned hot here!" Archanea during this time of year was hot and humid, and _damn it_ , today was the worst it had ever been. The sun wasn't even all that high in the sky yet! "Ugh!"

"...Please put your shirt back on." He pointedly looked up at the sky. "Please."

"If you can take yours off, then I can too." I grumbled, though my mood improved with no longer wearing a sweaty shirt. The breeze felt refreshing, even. "Even if you're scared of my breasts, I'm wearing a band. Besides…" I glanced around the practice yard, and pointed to where Diana and Hardin were sparring not too far away. "See? Diana's got her shirt off too." I knew she would. She always took it off at around this point. She and Hardin sparred twice every day, once in the early morning like now and once in the evening. Both of them seemed to enjoy it a lot. "Surprised she's wearing a breastband, though. Her boobs are small."

"Please put your shirt back on?"

"No way. It's far too damn hot!" I glowered at his back, before softening, remembering the praise. "But I'm really improving?"

"Yes, you are." He still looked away. I thought him silly for it. "Though, I'd say you'd need another year or so of training to be considered any sort of master. But you could probably take it on a battlefield and survive."

"Really?" I grinned, elated. I… I was improving. I was really improving! "That's… that's awesome!"

"You'll still need to train, though."

"Oh, you're not getting rid of me that easily. I plan on making you regret offering to get back at you."

"I doubt I could regret spending time with you." There was a long, awkward pause, and his face slowly reddened, matching his hair. "That came out weirder than I intended."

"O-oh…" My own face started to heat up, and I awkwardly looked down. "Yeah, um… that did sound… uh…"

"Right. I didn't mean… um…"

"It's fine. Fine. I know."

"Oh, okay, good."

"You two okay over there?" Diana concerned call made me jerk my head up. Both she and Hardin were giving us worried looks. "Did you overheat?" she asked, waving a bit to make sure she had our attention. When we both continued to stare blankly, startled, she glanced at Hardin. "Hardin, maybe we should all head in. The humidity is going to kill us."

"At the least, they need to, based on how red their faces are," Hardin agreed. He smiled slightly, the only hint that he was pleased with Diana _finally_ dropping the title with him. "I can get them inside if you want to go ahead and get some cold water?"

"Yeah, I will. It would be a tragedy if they were too sick to attend the ball this evening." She smiled kindly at us. "I'll meet you inside!" She scampered off, and I shared a 'oh, gods, now what do we do?' look with Cain as Hardin came over to us. It wasn't as if we could really explain why we'd both started blushing. It would be far too awkward to explain.

Well, it wasn't bad to be fussed over, even if Hardin was a bit of a nag.

* * *

"You have very pretty hair, Caeda," Diana murmured as she brushed out Caeda's hair and twisted it up in some elaborate bun. "You do need to hold your head still, though."

"Sorry!" Caeda laughed, doing her best to stop fidgeting. "Thanks for volunteering to help me, though."

"It's no trouble." Diana continued working on her hair, and I watched from my own chair. We were in Caeda's room, getting ready for the ball to celebrate Archanea's liberation. Diana had taken charge of Caeda and me both, helping us pick out clothes and even perfumes. I thought it was far too much trouble, but I had to admit that I already looked prettier than I ever thought I could look, just by wearing the fancy dress, a hastily hemmed old dress from Nyna, much like what Caeda wore.

"Still…" Caeda giggled. "You're really good at this. You're more suited to be a lady in waiting than a mercenary, if I may be so bold."

"You think so?" Diana looked a little confused, before smiling sadly. "I suppose if I'd stayed with my birth family, I would've become one. Or had them." She fell silent, carefully checking through the makeup she had set up on the table by Caeda. "Now that I think about it, though… I used to do this with my older sister."

"Your sister?" Caeda looked curious, and I was startled. I'd… always assumed Diana was just… you know… born a mercenary or something? I didn't even know. "You have one?"

"If we're talking my birth family, I had two. I'm thinking of my 'elder-eldest' one, Rosalind." Diana picked a shade and moved in front of Caeda to carefully apply some sort of light-pink to her lips. "She'd always been so distant, but no matter how silly my ideas were, she always listened closely. Even when it came to fashion, and she had to dress to impress suitors. I actually studied to make sure she looked as best as she could." She laughed softly, with a trace of bitterness, as she pulled away. "Huh. I hadn't thought about that in years. I'd almost forgotten."

"Ogma says he's forgotten a lot of his past." Caeda held still as Diana dabbed her mouth with a cloth, for some reason. "Something about the job?"

"Ogma's probably lying like I am and just keeping quiet. Like me." She frowned a little, tilting her head. "You said 'no' to eyeliner, right?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. I've tried it before and it just made me queasy having a pencil so close to my eye."

"It's fine. I just wanted to double-check. Are you good with eyeshadow?"

"Oh, sure!" Caeda closed her eyes and Diana picked through the makeup. "You're doing Kris next, right?"

"I am." Diana smiled warmly at me. "Go ahead and think about what makeup you might like."

"I still don't get the point of it," I pointed out dryly. I felt like a strange little doll, and wasn't sure how much I liked that. "Can I get away with none?"

"If you want," Diana replied. She shrugged slightly as she applied the eyeshadow to Caeda's face, a silver-white color. "I do think some lip color will be good, though."

"...Okay." I didn't get the fuss with appearances. It wasn't like anyone would be looking at me anyway, and Caeda was beautiful as is. "But only that. And something simple for my hair."

"Sounds good." She hummed a little, clearly having fun, and I tried to figure out _why_ this was fun. I felt almost uncomfortable, and then felt awkward because I was the only one feeling off. "Will you want it to stand out or be subtle?"

"Subtle. Please." I shifted in my chair, and then thought of something. "Wait, who is going to do you all up?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm not attending the ball." She stepped away from Caeda with a smile, though it fell as Caeda and I gave her incredulous looks. "What?"

"I… thought you'd be there as Nyna's guard," Caeda began slowly. She frowned a little. "She's attending, right?"

"Of course she is," Diana replied with a shrug. "Midia's going to be her guard, though. I'll be patrolling outside with Ogma and Navarre, since this would be a good time for assassins to try and strike."

"Doesn't she need two?"

"Jeorge is her escort." She said the words lightly, and I frowned. It was 'too light' for… ugh, I didn't get them. Then again, I didn't get relationships in general, except as a means to tease people. But at least Marth and Caeda were adorable with the blushing. These two just went too fast or too slow with no in-between. "So, she'll be perfectly fine."

"Jeorge and not… say… Duke Hardin?"

"...That's..." Diana's smile fell, and a conflicted look crossed her face. I knew that look. It was similar to the one she'd had when I'd asked about Camus.

From that alone, I could take a guess. "Hardin's got feelings for Nyna, doesn't he?" I asked. Caeda squeaked, and Diana's expression blanked. I'd taken her by surprise. "But Nyna doesn't like him like that. I bet that's why you even kept the title up for so long, isn't it?"

"...You are far too clever, Kris," Diana sighed. She smiled slightly. "You're right. He does. He knows that they are unrequited, though. I already warned him. But they do still linger, as feelings are wont to do, and so, it would be a cruel thing in my opinion."

"Well, yeah. It's like getting his hopes up, and the higher the hopes, the more crushing the fall." You learned that quick as a thief. Caution saved your life. "Why not Marth, though?"

"Well, then he'd have to dance first with Nyna and not Caeda." Diana suddenly grinned, and Caeda squeaked again, this time for different reasons. She even turned red. "This is why I chose against putting rogue on you, by the way. I'm sure you'll be blushing enough anyway."

"That she will!" I laughed and winked when Caeda sent me a withering look. "I'll make sure of it!"

"Marvelous." Diana held out her hand to me and waved me over. "Come on. Let's get your hair brushed."

"Fiiiiiine." I made my tone as whiny as possible as I stood up and traded seats with Caeda. "Simple."

"I know." She picked up the brush and carefully started brushing my hair out. I felt myself relaxing automatically, remembering how Grandfather would brush my hair when he was still alive. If I closed my eyes, I could _almost_ imagine being back there. "Is a bun okay?"

"Yeah." Of course, I wasn't back there. I wasn't back in that little house I called 'home'. But the feeling of nostalgia was almost overwhelming. Maybe… maybe my mother had done the same thing too. "Nothing fancy. I'm not a fancy girl."

"Thankfully, this ball won't be very fancy." The idea of a ball in _general_ sounded fancy to me, but hell if I actually knew. "By the way, do you two know the etiquette of Archanean balls?"

"Do we know the _what_?"

"Oh dear." Diana then, _while still fussing over my appearance_ , began rattling off all sorts of rules that made my head spin. I half-thought she was making it up, except… well, that didn't seem like her at all.

Balls were serious business apparently. Gods, help us all.

* * *

The room was stuffy. The music was loud. There was too much perfume. The only saving grace was that Diana had made sure I wore a dress of 'lighter' materials and that she'd kept everything simple. I never wanted to attend another ball again.

"No, I don't want to dance," I replied to another person I didn't recognize. I felt a little bad, since they asked politely, but based on what I remembered from Diana's spiel on manners, they were _supposed_ to ask politely, and I was sick and tired of having to refuse people. I didn't understand _why_ so many people were asking me. I just wanted to stay in the shadows in peace, damn it!

Quiet footsteps near made me stiffen, and I whirled, ready to just chew out the next person to ask me for a dance. All the words and annoyance fled, though, when I realized that the person… was Marth. It was Marth, holding two wine glasses and shifting his weight from one foot to the next awkwardly. I glanced to the side, wondering if I could find a good escape. Unfortunately, though, the answer was 'no' unless I wanted to chance causing a _massive_ scene, which I automatically recoiled from. To much of my safety had once been caught up in not bringing attention to myself. I couldn't break that habit now, when I was on the brink of a panic.

"I… thought I might find you in the shadows here…" he whispered. He hesitantly held out a wine glass, the fuller of the two, and I took it slowly, not quite looking at him. "I… um…" He sipped his drink. "Can… we talk, please?"

"I… I guess," I mumbled, looking to the ground. I couldn't escape, and I couldn't refuse. I wished I could run, but… "About what?"

"What you said, last time." He took another sip from his drink. "I… have a response this time."

"Oh." I nursed my drink, noticing by the slightly bitter taste that it was watered down wine. "...So…?"

"So… um…" He took yet another sip, bringing his glass to almost empty. "...To me…" He paused, and I waited for him to gather his thoughts. "I'm not 'the prince' around you. You and Caeda… are the only ones who do not treat me as a prince. I'm just Marth. You tease me relentlessly. You support me without a thought. You point out when I am being an idiot, and remind me of important things. So few… question me, especially now."

"But Merric…"

"Is my childhood friend, and a great support. But he still calls me 'Prince', and he does not question me. You do." He paused again, and I could only stare and almost drop my glass. He drained his with one more gulp. "It makes me feel safe letting you see my worries. I know you'll give me your honest opinion, no matter what, and yet, do what you can to reassure me. You…" He tried to smile, but there was a _lot_ of pain in his eyes. "I've never thought you useless. How could I? Did you forget? _You_ are the one who saved my life. If not for you, I never would've gotten this far, because I never would've made it out of Altea. I wouldn't have made it out of the castle."

"Marth…"

"So, please. If you _ever_ feel useless or worthless or whatever, please tell me instead of just sitting on it? I want to support you as you support me. You're incredibly important to me."

"Marth…" My throat closed up, and I knew I was about to cry again, this time, from sheer relief. I had to distract myself, and well, there was one way I loved doing that. "That sounded like a confession of love."

"It is?" He paused, and I waited a full three heartbeats before his face went red. "W-wait, no, not romantic! Not romantic!" I burst into laughter, and he started flailing. "Damn it, Kris! You know how I meant it!"

"You're too easy, pretty boy!" I grinned and, after a moment, he smiled back. "...So, I do… have place here."

"Always."

"...I'm still going to train."

"Go ahead." Marth's smile grew. "Cain's been telling me about how well you're doing. It makes me want to try harder so that you don't leave me behind."

"Join us. Hardin and Diana already spar in the morning nearby. We can drag Abel and make it an even number or something."

"Yes, that sounds good." He laughed softly. "I'm already looking forward to it."

"Be careful. I'll disarm you fast if you underestimate me." I grinned at the mental image, but it dropped in a hurry when I saw _another_ guy trying to approach. This time, I just glowered, and he stiffened before walking quickly away. "Answer me something. _Why_ do I keep getting invites? I keep refusing, but no one takes the hint."

"Oh, it's just politeness. It's the duty of gentlemen to ensure that all ladies are enjoying the ball, and manners demand that they ask wallflowers for a dance." He shrugged. "Normally, I think the hostess or host or whatever would politely ask gentleman to dance with wallflowers, but I can't see Princess Nyna doing that to you. So, I think it's habit."

"That… oh, Diana might've warned me about that." I shrugged and then, noticing Caeda not far away, not-so-subtly pushed him towards her. "Go. Ask her."

"I-I've already danced with her!"

"Do it again."

"It's improper!"

"So? Is there really anyone else you want to dance with?" I grinned as he struggled to come up with an answer. "Go on. This is supposed to be a celebration, right? What's the point of celebrating if you can't dance a few times with your crush?"

"I…" He started to say more, but then paused and, to my intense amusement and surprise, he stole _my_ wineglass, downed it in a gulp, and headed over for Caeda. A couple moments later, I saw the two of them stepping onto the dance floor together, both blushing madly, but smiling gently and sweetly at each other. It was almost enough to make my teeth ache, but I had to smile anyway. It was fun, watching them.

"Oh, there you are." Cain suddenly approached then, smiling slightly when I squeaked. "And here I thought you had escaped or something," he teased, adeptly ignoring my glower. "Enjoying the wall?"

"If I were that lucky, I might just sing," I deadpanned. He snickered. "No, I'm here, for some reason."

"I can see that." He studied me a moment, and then bowed slightly. "Well, might I have the pleasure of a dance?"

"...I don't know how."

"I figured that."

"I'll step on your toes."

"You can't do much more damage than a fight." He grinned, eyes dancing with hidden laughter. "Of course, if you're scared…"

"...Damn it, why does that keep on working?" I supposed it was simply because I didn't like him not thinking well of me. "Fine, but we're going to screw the other people up. I seriously don't know how to dance."

"We'll keep to the edges." He offered me his hand, and I hesitantly took it. "Here. I'll show you the steps."

"How do you know any…" I trailed off as I remembered a conversation that felt like lifetimes ago. "Is this just a noble born thing?"

"I had to have this memorized by age five." He placed my free hand on his shoulder and rested _his_ free hand on the small of my back. "Okay, you step like this…"

He very patiently taught me the steps for the dance, a waltz or whatever, reminding me of the first days of my sword lessons. He honestly was a really good teacher, for all that he charged ahead in the middle of a fight. It was a little surprising, actually. More surprising, though, was the… odd feeling I got from having him stand so close for so long. I didn't blush or anything, but I felt like I had butterflies in my stomach, and my hand and back felt strangely warm even after he'd let go of me. It wasn't a _bad_ feeling. It was… just odd.

I'd ignore it for now. It could just be the ball, after all.

* * *

Author's Notes: And here we are with Marth and Kris finally reconciling! Yay! And have a little bit more of Diana's backstory. Any 'ball etiquette' mentioned here is based more off of Victorian manners, though I'll be the first to admit that I didn't do _that_ much research.

Next Chapter - Intermission, Royals of Ruins


	25. Intermission - Royals of Ruins

Intermission - Royals of Ruins

* * *

 _Nyna_

* * *

She knows she has to be her own person. They must be 'Nyna' and 'Diana', not 'Nyna and Diana'. She leans so heavily on her, and Diana leans back. They support each other, but they cannot stand alone. They have to relearn. She knows this. But it's hard. She longs to simply hide in her room, being spoiled. She longs to pretend the war isn't going on. She longs to go 'back' to when she was just the 'captured princess'.

She longs for all of this, and feels guilty. People fight and kill in her name, and yet, all she wants to do is run away. She's not suited to this. It's as clear as day. She is as suited to be empress as her father had been. She tries, gods does she ever try, but the more she tries, the more she realizes it. The people love the image she's cultivated, but wearing the mask is so heavy and trying. The soldiers sing her praises, but she just wants to weep from fear and sadness.

Then there is Boah. Sweet, kind Boah who is just trying to help, but she dreads seeing him because it's all talk of how to restore Archanea. As empress, she should be listening attentively, but all she wants to do is throw something, throw a lot of things, and demand why Archanea couldn't wait two godsdamned marks while she picks herself off the ground and pieces herself together.

An empress is symbol. An empress is a legacy. An empress isn't allowed to be human except for a handful of people. She hates it. She wanders the ruins of her home, her castle, and wants nothing more than to disappear. To go somewhere where she doesn't have to be the empress. She can just be a normal person. A normal person who doesn't have to think of arranged marriages…

She sighs, wishing there was some stone or something to kick as she continues walking down the hall. She just got out of a meeting with Boah, and he's suggested that she take a 'foreign king' as her husband, to strength Archanea's reputation. By which he means 'choose Prince Marth or Duke Hardin'. And she can't. She can't choose either. Marry Prince Marth? Might as well say 'Break Caeda's heart', and she can't do that. Caeda is kind and gentle, sweet and loving. Caeda is always there with a smile. Honestly, she had never met anyone as trusting or as kind. If she _did_ marry Marth, she knows Caeda would lie and insist it was fine. She can't. She can't do that.

She also can't marry Duke Hardin. She's not completely blind. She knows he's infatuated with her. She refuses to call it 'love'. He doesn't know her, after all. He only knows the image she projects, along with a handful of other traits that makes him _think_ he knows and loves her. But she knows the truth. She's _never_ been fully herself around him, not like how she is with Diana, how she was with Camus, how she is relearning to be around Midia and Jeorge and Horace. It's possible he _could_ love the real her, and she has to admit that she'd have little to complain about if she did marry him.

But it would be cruel to marry him when he is infatuated, and she isn't. Her heart belongs to Camus, and perhaps that might still change. Perhaps she is clinging to that love and it will fade if he dies, or if she sees him again. But, for now, she is. She is in love with Camus still, feelings that grow stronger and not weaker, and she can't do that to Duke Hardin. It's not something she'd inflict on her worse enemy, if Medeus even had thoughts of marriages instead of just destroying everything, so it's definitely not something she'd inflict on someone who has been a trusted ally for so long. It leaves her in a trap, though. She cannot choose either, and she knows Boah would never accept her being single. She knows she'll lose what trust she has built if she declares her feelings…

She doesn't know what to do. That is why she still constantly seeks out Diana. Diana is always there with a smile, with reassurances, and never pushes her away, even over worries of dependency. Diana makes her feel better, while encouraging her to press on. She loves Midia and Jeorge dearly, but their reassurances don't address all the problems, and she doesn't know how to voice it. She doesn't _have_ to with Diana. She's forgotten how, and she knows that's a problem.

"Oh, Nyna!" Caeda's happy voice startles her, and she turns to see Caeda skipping down the hall to catch up with her. "Hey, are you okay?" Caeda asks, peering up worriedly at her. "I saw you leave that meeting with Boah, and… well, most people wouldn't be able to catch it, but I swore you just looked drained."

"I…" she begins. She hesitates, but remembers what she had just thought. Caeda was kind. "...Can I… vent a little? I normally vent at Diana, but…"

"But you're worried that she's neglecting herself to take care of you." Caeda smiles at her disbelieving look. "When Marth first came to Talys, my father warned me to give Marth his space, to avoid something like that. Of course, Marth had more people. You just had Diana."

"...I had… one other person, actually." She says the words haltingly, and she's terrified. But Caeda smiles, and it soothes her. "That's… part of the problem."

"In that case, I made some cookies." Caeda takes her arm. "Why don't we have a chat? Some nice girl talk about all the things bothering us, where we pretend we're not royals and leaders."

"Yes." She smiles, and based on Caeda's startled look, she knows it's the smile she normally wears only around Diana and Camus. But it's a relief to smile that smile, so she doesn't change it. "Thank you."

* * *

 _Marth_

* * *

With Archanea freed, he knows the next targets. It is time to liberate Altea, at last, but it would be better to have Falchion. He can't remember _who_ said it. Only that someone did, and that meant only one thing; they were going to Gra first. Gra, sister-nation to Altea, and home of King Jiol, who turned traitor. Who attacked Altea's army from behind. Who killed his father. Who killed Frey.

The anger almost overwhelms him. How dare that man do that? How dare that man do any of that? How _dare_ … the words echo. He imagines all sorts of horrible things as well. He longs to end this war as painlessly as possible. He longs to forgive and… well, not really 'forget', but to move past. It's easy to do with Macedon. In some ways, it's easy to do with Dolhr. But Gra… but _Jiol_ … it's not so easy. He understands now why so many thought him insane when he treated the Macedonian soldiers. He understands now why they couldn't just forgive and work together.

He's supposed to be the King of Altea, heir to Anri. Yet, here he is, sitting at his desk, imagining torturing Jiol to death. It's horrific. It's hateful. But worse is how happy and not-happy it makes him. He feels sickened, but there is a certain morbid glee to it. It's not a true happiness, but perhaps something close enough…

He laughs bitterly as he can already hear Kris's words running through his head. 'Are you happy?'. Simple, yet it does so much, because they remind him of Frey. Precious and dear Frey, two years dead by now, all to save him. Frey, who had wanted him to be happy, truly happy. He had to… make up for that. Somehow. Some way. But all he could think of was make Jiol pay, and salvage his ruined kingdom.

He doesn't know how. He only really knows how to be a symbol.

A knock on the door makes him look up and after a moment, the door opens to reveal Duke Hardin. "...You look like hell, Prince Marth," the man says bluntly. But there's a kindness in the words that softens the blow. "What's kept you up? I thought you made up with Kris."

"I have," he replies, smiling slightly. "Though, it does not stop her from trying to hit me in the face."

"You've a weakness in your left guard. Face hits are very good ways to get you to tighten your guard." Duke Hardin smiles, eyes dancing slightly in quiet laughter. He knows it's because Diana had done the same thing in her early morning spar with the duke, though Diana had to jump. "Those morning spars are quite fun, you know."

"They are!" His smile grows. It's just eight of them, and they switch up the pairings each morning, but there is something invigorating about it. There is something wonderful about meeting people he respects early in the morning, and it not being some administrative thing. "I know it's training, but the exercise… it reminds me of Talys." It reminds him of when he didn't have the weight of everything on his shoulders.

"It's easy to imagine it being during a more peaceful time, where the war wasn't here, and the sparring was simply exercise and preparation for bandits." Duke Hardin's smile warms briefly before falling for a studying look instead. "But that doesn't change that you look like hell now. What troubles you?"

"I…" He sighs, pausing and trying to think. But all he has is a jumbled mess, and he wants to go to Kris, who knows without his having to explain. But that is a disservice to himself, a lazy shortcut. He cannot do that. "Well, if you don't mind listening to me ramble a bit to try and unravel it all?"

"Of course." Duke Hardin instantly takes a chair and sits down across from him, leaning forward slightly. "If I may be bold, Prince Marth… you _are_ rather young for holding everything in. I know as a prince you're required, but sometimes, the elderly do know what they're talking about."

"You're not _that_ old, Duke Hardin." Still, he smiles, relieved and grateful. "But, if you can offer advice…"

"Let's pretend we're not royals for a short while and simply talk and complain. It does us good to remember we are human, when we have a chance." Duke Hardin smiles in return. "And, truthfully, I _have_ always wanted a little brother. I don't wish to make assumptions or push, but-"

"I would be honored to be thought of as your little brother. You're an ideal I strive for." He grins as he notices Duke Hardin flush a bit in pleased embarrassment. "Now, what bothers me… is Gra. Gra, and Jiol…"

* * *

Author's note: Some bonding between other royals. Yay!

Next Chapter - The Wooden Cavalry


	26. Chapter 11) Wooden Cavalry

Chapter 11) Wooden Cavalry

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _With Archanea firmly secured, our army marches at last, for 'Altea', with the first stop being Gra. You can tell the Alteans in the group have mixed feelings. Prince Marth talks often with Nyna and Hardin, and many Alteans withdraw from social situations to train even harder._

 _However, there's one more 'roadblock', so to speak. Grust set up a bunch of ballistae on the border, hoping to stop our movements. It's like they forgot ballistae had a crippling weakness: get in close, and they're useless._

 _I wonder where Astram is. With Archanea free, he really should be here with us. He didn't die, right?_

* * *

"You are literally like a mother hen!" Midia laughed as I checked the urge to go check on Nyna for the upteenth time. "Relax. She's perfectly fine with Horace as her guard."

"Logically, I know this," I grumbled. It was almost annoying how I kept having to firm my resolve. If there was a battle, I would be the infirmary guard, but today, I was 'taking a break' and Horace was Nyna's guard on the road. "Emotionally, I keep panicking."

"I'm sure she's the same." Midia patted my shoulder, giving me a sympathetic smile. "I'm here to stop you, though."

"Thank you." That was the whole reason I was walking with her, actually. I'd told her how much trouble Nyna and I were having, and she happily volunteered to help me. "I'm sorry to be such trouble."

"It's no trouble." She glanced around and tugged her horse a little closer, almost like a wall. We were walking near the back of the group, meaning we had a lot of privacy. "Besides, this means I can ask you about Jeorge~!" And privacy meant teasing. I knew her that well, at least.

"There's nothing to ask about." I sighed, unable to help it. I knew it was going to come up. "Nothing at all."

"Really?" Midia glanced up at the sky, like the clouds had all the answers. "Huh. I thought-"

"He's just being flirtatious, and maybe a little fast."

"Is he?" She returned her attention to me. "You've known each other for a while, right?"

"Technically, by the calendar, six years, but two of those years shouldn't count considering everything." But I did meet Jeorge when I was thirteen, and even if it was a distant acquaintance, through Charles, I still had known him for a long while. "He still wears the same stupid scarf."

"That he does. He refuses to explain where he got it. Different story every time." She shook her head, scowling, and I laughed, unable to help it. "But seriously, is he going too fast? Too slow? Do I need to remind him on proper manners on your behalf?"

"I… have no idea." I closed my eyes, trying to think things through, and ended up tripping on a rock of all things. "Whoa!"

"Eyes forward, silly!" Midia caught me before I could fall, and then laughed at something. "Gods, you're tiny."

"I'm sorry for being short!" I sulked up at her, unable to help it. "It's like I spent all my energy being angry. I should've saved some for growing."

"Nah, it makes you adorable."

"I'm a mercenary!" I huffed, looking away. "Mercenaries do not need to be cute."

"But you can be, and you show that people can be cute while murdering people." Midia grinned and I laughed, approving of the morbidity. "But we're off topic. Jeorge?"

"You're like a terrier!" I grumbled a few more curses under my breath before relenting. "It's not just the speed. Too fast… too slow… hell if I know anything like that. Mercenaries moved fast because our lives were short. Nobles… well, if you had a courting phase, you were lucky. Most of the time..."

"Arranged marriages. I'm lucky in that regard." Midia gave me a sympathetic look. "So, not the pace. Something else?"

"Yeah…" I struggled to try and put it into words. "I feel like… like he's just sorta…" I started motioning with my hands, as if they could pick up the words for me. "Part of me thinks he's just going by what society says is romantic? Instead of what I would find romantic?" I shrugged. "I don't know." It wasn't as if I didn't appreciate the attention. I wouldn't have this conflict if I didn't. But instead of flirting and bantering, which was fun, I wanted more things like… like the time we sat under the stars, drinking tea. "Should I say something to him?"

"Oh, yes." Her hand fell on my shoulder and she smiled kindly at me. "It's important to set up your boundaries. No one has a right to take them from you. Any who try is a piece of shit who deserves a lance straight up their ass."

"…You've picked up some of Astram's speaking habits."

"To my family's grief, but I don't care. I'm me. I pick my path. I always have." She shrugged, but kept the smile. "You do what you need to, Diana. You're also trying to think and heal from the past two years, right? No matter what, it's going to be messy. So just jump head first into the mess, and remember you have people ready to help you through it."

"With a towel and a bath, I hope." I had to joke, mostly because she was so right the only option was likely to scream or groan.

"Of course." Her light laugh told me she recognized what I was going through. I wished I'd hung out with her more over the years. I might've had less problems, but then again, a huge problem was refusing to get close to people. Scared of being betrayed again, used again, by people I loved. As a mercenary, I was constantly used and betrayed by employers, only reinforcing that belief. 'Get close, and be betrayed.' 'Get close, and be used.' 'Just run from it all and keep your distance.' Really, the worst thing I'd ever done was become a mercenary. Maybe that was why Dad had protested so much when I wanted to join up.

Shouts ahead drew both of our attention, and we glanced at each other and shrugged, already knowing what was to come. Battles waited for no one, and we were at war. Battles were becoming common, and would be more common the longer we went. It was sad how used to fighting all of us were.

I hoped… I wouldn't have to fight as much… when this war was over. I hated it.

* * *

Ballistae sucked. I hated dealing with them. I was glad to be on infirmary guard duty with Horace. Even if it did mean being among the last to hear of sudden recruitments.

"So, the word is that we have _two_ ballistician experts now?" I asked Horace, wiping some sweat off my face. "Jake and this new fellow? Beck?"

"That's what the injured are reporting, at least," Horace explained. He passed me a handkerchief, of all things, and smiled slightly when I gave him an incredulous look. "I got a care package from my people and it included a bunch of handkerchiefs. I think I could give everyone in the army one, and still have extra."

"That makes me feel bad staining it."

"The letters with them included 'they better be used or else'. Apparently, they sent them along for both the normal use, and to help in the infirmary." His smile grew. "So, please."

"Well, considering my hands, it's a little late." I laughed, though, and did use it to properly clean my face. I grimaced at the amount of muck that was on it. "Ugh, I'm a mess."

"I know of no one who can fight a battle and come out looking like they're about to go to a ball, Dame Diana."

"That doesn't mean I can't complain!" I longingly remembered the ball we had. It had been so much fun helping Nyna, Princess Caeda, and Kris get ready for it. I wanted to do it again. "What's wrong with wanting to look pretty while you're eviscerating people?"

"Perhaps that you have the energy to even worry about that?"

"I'm good at murder and fashion, and there is no reason I can't…" I trailed off as I noticed another wave of wounded coming, with enemies hot on their heels. "Well, shit."

We went back to fighting, Horace's handkerchief disappearing somewhere in the mess. Horace focused more on the defense, due to having heavier armor and a giant shield. I focused more on the offense, taking advantage of how I was just a lot faster than most. I wasn't the strongest, and my ability to defend myself other than dodging could be atrocious. These battles certainly highlighted those flaws. But I was fast and skilled, and I could make up for my flaws with those advantages. That was enough, especially when I wasn't on the field. I was just keeping people from killing the injured and giving our wounded a chance to survive.

I thought that suited me a lot more. Protecting. It gave me a good feeling while fighting, instead of the apathetic grimness I normally associated with a battle.

"Dame Diana?" Horace called at some point, shortly after we got the last of this wave inside the infirmary tent. I shook the blood out of my hair and turned towards him, curious. "I believe… we might have an unusual problem?"

"Do we?" I asked. I looked around, wondering if some ballistae had rolled up without us knowing. Instead, though, I found someone who looked a lot like Astram amidst some enemies slowly coming our way. "...Might need to get Midia. Think she's stationed not far away..."

"I'll have her here shortly." Horace took off, as fast as he could in the armor. I debated calling him back, to point out that I was faster, but that wasn't the point. There was no way in hell Astram would hesitate to fight Horace. But… he might with me.

I caught Astram's eye, and watched him freeze briefly before pointedly turning away to be shouted at by one of the enemy soldiers. As that happened, I moved subtly towards the infirmary tent, wondering what he'd would do. He was a mercenary, but he'd always also been a loyal hothead. If he thought Midia or Nyna were in any danger, he'd fight with them. He fought for people, not for countries. My presence might make him pause, but that was it. I was not one of the people he fought for. Charles might've been, but I was not.

Thankfully, though, I didn't have to try and figure out how to best weaponize that. Maybe it was the power of love or something, but Midia was riding up before long, and she didn't even wait to come to a full stop before dismounting and running towards him. "Hello, my love!" she greeted, beaming. Astram instantly stiffened and turned, looking so confused and lost. "What? Have you forgotten my voice?"

"Midia?" Astram breathed. He smiled back, and looked ready to cry. "Midia, my sweet! Is that you?" He ran over, pushing past the stunned enemy soldiers, and hugged her tightly. I had to fight to keep from laughing. "I feared you were dead…"

"No, I'm very much alive." She hugged him back, laughing. "But what are you doing? Have you not heard? Archanea is liberated! You needn't dance to Dolhr's fiddle any longer."

"I've a mind to break their fiddle." Astram sighed and pulled away slightly to caress her cheek. "I'm sorry. I left you alone. I won't make that mistake again."

"Nope!" Midia giggled. "Now that I have you back, you'll find that I'm exceedingly reluctant to let you go."

"Is that so?" Astram laughed. "Careful that you don't crush me instead of Dolhr!"

"You're dodging the issue." Midia pouted. "I want something different from an apology, and you know it."

"Well…"

"You two are in the middle of a battle!" I 'gently' reminded the two of them. At the top of my lungs. So that everyone could hear. "Be sickeningly sweet later! Kill enemies now!"

The two yelped and blushed. Midia then huffed at me, while Astram stared. I waved, and pointed to the enemies for emphasis before turning to cut down someone who thought I was distracted enough to be an easy target. I knew they'd jump into battle again before long. After all, fighting and sparring was one of the many ways they flirted.

In the meantime, I just had to avoid drowning in blood and fluff. Not that hard, all things considered.

* * *

The battle wrapped up fairly quickly after Astram's recruitment. After that, Nyna and Marth sat down for food and talking. After some debating, I decided to leave it to just the two of them, and instead, went about doing some chores. Like laundry. Whoever was doing laundry for the army was doing it pitifully.

"There, that looks much better!" I commented, bringing some clothes out of where I'd left them to soak. "Not a trace of blood~" I giggled and set them up to hang. By this point, I was almost done, and so, I was standing in a veritable forest of drying clothes. My shoulders and back ached from bending over so much, and my hands were dried out, but I thought it was worth seeing the clothes properly clean. "Now everyone will look like proper soldiers when marching on Gra!"

"Oh, there _is_ a person among the flapping clothes." The voice made me squeak and I nearly fell into one of my washing tubs. Jeorge, however, caught me. "How did I sneak up on you?" he asked, helping me steady myself. "I wasn't trying."

"Well, perhaps the shiny clothes caught my attention more," I huffed, annoyed. He laughed, and I rolled my eyes. Then I glowered as I noticed something that just _irritated_ me. "Which reminds me. Give me your scarf."

"No, you can't have my scarf."

"I'm not going to steal it or anything, much as I would _love_ to." I held my hand out. "I want to wash it."

"I normally do that."

"Yes, and you're relying on how it's red to hide the scarlet patches, but I can see it, and it bothers me." I reached up to snag one end, and tugged. "Come on. I'm in full cleaning mode. Either avoid me for a day or give it up."

"Both don't sound fun." He sighed heavily, and slowly, almost like he was making a show of his reluctance, unwound the scarf and let me take it to soak. "Why are you doing laundry?"

"Because Nyna's chatting with Prince Marth, and I got tired of how grey everyone's clothes were looking. Not to mention the small dark patches where whoever did laundry wasn't actually getting blood out."

"Soldiers on chores."

"No wonder." I dunked the scarf in some water and sat on the edge of the tub, looking up at him. "Shouldn't take too long, with my secret method."

"Secret method?" He looked amused. "This isn't going to turn it white, is it?"

"Do the other clothes look white?" I gestured for emphasis, smiling. "Ah, everyone's going to look very dashing for the next battle. That'll be good."

"Will it?"

"Yes, as a morale booster for us, and a morale dampener for Gra." I nudged his leg, smiling. "People feel more confident when they look nice."

"Oh, is _that_ why I'm confident all the time?" He grinned and I laughed. "I never would've thought."

"Yes, of course, vain bird that you are." I rolled my eyes, still laughing, but the sound died as I thought of what I'd told Midia earlier. I did like this. I liked this bantering. But, at the same time, it was just… it was fun, but it was not 'courting'. It was fun, but sometimes, I wondered if I was a substitute. If I was just… something of the old that he wanted to cling to, because everything was so different now. "Jeorge?"

"Yes?" He smiled, but it faltered when he saw how hesitant I was. "What is it?"

"W-well…" I hopped to my feet and took his scarf from the water, checking it for stains. Satisfied that the blood was out enough, I hung it with the others, fussing a bit. I didn't _want_ to say anything. I wanted to run. But I couldn't run anymore. For my own sake. "I wanted… to say something."

"About?"

"I… guess us?" My voice sounded small, and I briefly glanced at him. He looked startled. "Or… whatever this is."

"I-"

"No. Hold it. I need to say this." I sighed and turned to face him. "Yes, I've noticed the flirting. Hell, I even find it fun, though sometimes… I wonder if you're flirting with _me_ or something else and I'm the substitute. I've known you for years, yes, but…" I shook my head when he began to speak again. "No, let me finish. Please." I waited and he nodded slowly, eyes deadly serious. I took a deep breath before gathering my courage. "But you've never showed interest until _after_ everything went to hell. Maybe I was just stupid and didn't notice before. Maybe you held back because of Charles. I don't know."

"Diana…" He reached out to touch me, but let his hand fall when I shook my head. "I…"

"But, basically, Jeorge, what I need to know, _really_ need to know, before I even try to figure out what I feel for you is…" My voice caught and I coughed to clear it. "I need to know if you're playing, if you're serious, or if you just _think_ you're being serious." I paused, mostly to try and calm my thudding heart. Jeorge's expression blanked, like he'd never even considered the options. "No, I don't want an opinion right now. I want…" My voice cracked, and this time, I realized why. I was on the edge of tears. Of all things, this was what was going to tip me into tears. I hated how pathetic I was. I could face death in the face many times over, and yet, I cried over a stupid boy. Ridiculous. "I want you to think, really think, and give me an answer. Later. Not now." I ducked my head, and with a grunt, picked up the tub. "I'm going to dump this. Your scarf will be done drying in the morning. Please don't follow me."

There was no reply, but I felt his eyes on me as I walked off, the tub banging against my knees until they felt bruised and swollen. A quick glance down, through slowly blurring vision, showed my knees were actually bleeding. It didn't help with the sudden burst of self-pity. Not one bit.

"Why did you not get help?" Someone took the tub from me, water sloshing over the sides, and I jerked my head up to yell at whoever it was. The words dried up, though, when I saw it was Astram. "H-hey, you okay?" he asked, looking a little frantic. He set the tub to the side and awkwardly used his sleeve to dab at my face. I realized then that I was actually crying. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I just… um…"

"Not your fault," I mumbled. I batted his hand away to wipe at my own eyes. "I'm just being stupid. I sorta yelled at Jeorge."

"Oh. Huh." He fidgeted, glancing to the side. "Do I… uh… need to talk with him?"

"No, no, I said everything I needed." I paused, though, reconsidering. "I mean; he's your friend, so you might need to talk… but not for me or… um…"

"Basically, Jeorge's friend, not 'Charles isn't here' friend." He breathed a little sigh of relief and I managed a watery chuckle. "Maybe if you need that, we'll have Midia handle it."

"S-Sounds good." The tears kept coming, though. "Ah, damn it. Why am I stupid?"

"Because you're relearning how to be silly and vulnerable? I don't have a clue. I just got here." He shrugged, but sighed, and tugged me in a one-armed hug so that I could cry on his chest. "We met because of something like this, right?"

"...You're right." I'd almost forgotten. I'd gotten lost in the palace while trying to bring Charles some food, and had been caught up in a horrible fear of being alone again. Astram had found me. "You were even more awkward back then."

"I was. But, then again, random girl crying in the middle of the hall is infinitely more awkward." He patted my back. "Well, for now, you just cry. And if it makes you feel better, I think you might be crying for more than this one little thing that you think you're crying about."

"Not sure if that helps." But it did make me laugh a bit more before I just started crying. "This is stupid."

"Emotions are stupid. That's why you get folks like Navarre who kill theirs, or Ogma, who repress them. If I didn't have Archanea and my friends, I'd be the same."

"Was I?"

"I think you were on your way. But I'm glad you're not." He tightened his hug on me. "Charles… he wanted you to live. He wanted you to live so badly."

"That's why he h-hid the poison, right?" It was also why he'd made me make that promise. He hadn't just wanted me to 'live'.

"Yeah." What Charles had wanted was for me to _heal_. For me to _move forward_. "He was a good friend and brother."

"I miss him so much. I miss him and everyone so damn much." And I let myself cry for all of them. I wasn't sure if I ever had. Cried for them. Maybe I had. Maybe I hadn't.

But this cry felt like I was finally letting go of a weight chaining me down. So, maybe it was a good thing the thing with Jeorge sparked my tears. With luck, I could stand a little straighter when I was done being silly.

Astram just held me while I cried, even though I knew he'd rather be cuddling with Midia. I owed them both. I owed them both a lot.

* * *

 _Notes on Radd:_

 _A young mercenary who was employed by Port Warren. Started traveling with us, though, after we were ambushed._

 _New to the job, he's still rather experienced, but has great potential. If he trains, he'll be among our strongest. Maybe._

 _Very close to his partner, and I've caught enough gossip to know that either he's courting Caesar, or a relative of Caesar. Fine either way._

 _Notes on Caesar:_

 _A mercenary employed by Port Warren, who travels with us now because we pay more._

 _Though more experienced than Radd, he still has room to grow. That said, he has a great amount of strength and speed, so if he trains, he'll be fine._

 _Focused on money, and carefully counts it out, making me think he's saving to purchase something. Medicine would be my guess._

 _Notes on Roger:_

 _A knight of Grust who was recruited by Caeda flirting. He doesn't seem to have noticed yet._

 _As typical of those who wear heavy armor, he's slow, but strong, capable of taking a lot of hits. He serves on the frontlines besides Draug and does very well for himself._

 _Considering he was tricked by Caeda, he's an oddly lucky fellow. If Caeda hadn't singled him out, for instance, he'd be dead._

* * *

Author's note: You know, I think this is the first Diana chapter where Nyna doesn't actually show up at all. Mentioned, of course, but doesn't show. Roger has an 80% luck growth, ftr. Yeah.

Diana's 'secret method' for riding bloodstains in so short of a time? Fictitious, unless a someone wants to share a way. Most methods I know of require chemicals, or extensive soaking and friction. But you'll want to keep it in cold water, though. The heat of warm water can help a stain set.

Next Chapter - Land of Sorrow


	27. Chapter 12) Land of Sorrow

Chapter 12) Land of Sorrow

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _We've left Archanea, the country, and march of Gra. Once within the borders, no one opposes us, giving us a straight shot to the castle, where Jiol waits. Gra… it's betrayal has loomed over many of us for two long years. It's betrayal destroying Altea's main forces, killing King Cornelius, and many of Cain's friends. Then they attacked our home, forcing us to leave Elice and Frey behind. A crushing blow and, worse, King Jiol stole Falchion, our best weapon against Medeus._

 _This time, though, we were the ones assaulting the castle. This time, we were bringing the fight to them. This time… we'd win._

* * *

Somehow, I didn't expect it to look so peaceful. I wasn't sure why. I knew that Gra was just a place, like Altea, filled with people, like Altea. I knew that it would take one hell of a bad king to turn a landscape into living hell, and that such things only happened in stories. Yet, there was some feeling of disappointment when we came up on the castle, and found nothing but peaceful grass and clear skies.

"It's looks like Altea," Prince Marth murmured. He and I stood apart from the camp, taking advantage of the unexpected time. The War Meeting had gone faster than anticipated, but we still needed to wait for everyone to complete their preparations. "I don't why it surprises me. I've visited once before."

"It's a sister-nation to Altea, right?" I asked. I vaguely remembered the lessons Jagan gave us, way back in Talys. It felt long ago. "They split off?"

"Yes, Anri had no children, and so, Marcelus took the throne after him. But there were people who protested, having too much love for Anri in their hearts to accept his brother. So, they split off, and became Gra." Marth looked up at the sky. It was cloudly, almost sparkling with how blue it was. I worried for the fliers. "But, they maintained a good relationship, likely because Marcelus let them leave."

"And then Jiol betrayed."

"Yes, he did. He betrayed and killed… everything." Marth closed his eyes, still with his head tilted up. "Medeus and Gharnef are the enemies of Archanea. In Medeus's name, people kill. Because of Gharnef's power, people become afraid."

"You learn the true character of people when everything turns to hell, I guess." I smiled wryly, laughing. "I mean; my conscience came back that day. That's the whole reason why I saved you."

"Yes, that's right. And I ran, like a craven."

"Like a smart person. There's no way we could've stood up to them." I half-heartedly whacked him on the shoulder, and he opened his eyes to give me a dirty look. "They destroyed the army. But we rebuilt it."

"...Yes, that's true. We rebuilt the army lost that day. We've made ourselves stronger…" He looked over his shoulder, back at the camp. Everyone was rather cheerful. Morale was higher than ever. I'd thought Diana had been joking when she said 'properly clean clothes could make a difference', but honestly, it seemed to. Everyone was confident, and seemed almost eager to continue the fight. "We have a lot of advantages."

"We do." I made a face, though, mostly to jest. "I still can't believe Diana insisted on giving our clothes an extra wash."

"At least she didn't nearly rip the clothes off of you." He tried to smile at the jest, but it fell flat as he looked back at the castle. "It'll start soon…" He sighed and glanced at me. "Stay near. Make sure I don't go too far."

"...Of course." I knew what he meant by the question. We both knew what he meant. "I'm with you, my silly prince." I smiled at him and he finally smiled back. "Now, let's kick their asses."

"Yes." His smile grew. "This day… Gra falls."

"Yes, yes." I decided a change was needed and I slung my arm over his shoulders and steered him back to camp. "But, in other news, how goes things with Caeda?"

"KRIS!"

"Haha! Your face is bright red!" I continued teasing him as we returned to the others, laughing all the while. Before long, he'd have to be all serious. It was the least I could do to help him relax.

Archanea castle might've been a turning point of the continent, but for we Alteans… the real turning point was _now_. And gods, all of us looked forward to it.

* * *

This had to be the most electric battle I'd ever fought, and I'd literally fought during a storm. But there was an energy to it that was not present in any other battle. I wasn't sure if it was just me, because this was Gra, or if it was the army, because even if this army was made up of different countries, the core… the core was Altea. The core of this army was we Alteans. And all of us were ready to pay back Gra for what it did.

"Everyone alright here?" That said, there were still some things that needed to be done, like warning villagers. "Hello?" I called, frowning as I walked through the main street. Unlike the other villages, this one… seemed empty. "Is everyone… is there anyone here?"

"Ah, I'm afraid we just completed evacuations here." A man stepped out of an alley then, wearing a black and gold outfit I recognized and a hooded cloak. "I was checking there were no children hiding in closets," he explained, shifting slightly. There was no weapon. "You are…?"

"Haven't we met, Sirius?" I narrowed my eyes as the man tensed. "You… are him, right? The outfit…" I trailed off as I remembered a certain key thing. "Wait, shit, you're Camus."

"...I'm afraid I really don't know who you are." But he brought down the hood, and after a moment, I did notice the differences in his face. He was far… sadder than Sirius, for one thing. "So…?"

"It's Kris. I'm Marth's friend." I shifted my stance slightly and kept my sword at my side. I'd been relying on it during the battle, mostly so that I use the magic as a backup.

"The mage knight." Of course, he already knew I used magic. "I'd heard rumors from the survivors at the border." He laughed softly, ducking his head slightly. "Well, that's convenient. I've something for you." He pulled out a tome from… somewhere, probably a pack I just couldn't see, and held it out. "Here."

"..." I cautiously approached, eyes darting around just in case. But there was nothing. "You can see I'm holding a sword."

"Well, if you do decide to gut me, it would solve a great deal of my problems." He shrugged, and I gaped at how little he seemed to care. "Tome?"

"Uh… right." I took it from him slowly, and gasped as a pulse of power hit me. "What is…?"

"Thoron." He took a step back. "I think it was Bishop Boah's. It's not a 'super-magic' or whatever it's called like Excalibur or Aura, but it's among the most powerful spells."

"...And you're just giving it? To me?"

"Well, it's not like I can use it." He shrugged, and took another step back. "Please, tell Diana and Nyna to stay safe."

"Why not tell them yourself?" I waited for an answer, but all I got was a bitter smile as he turned and walked away. I nearly threw my hands up in frustration, but instead, turned and stormed back to the battlefield.

I paused and looked back, though, when I reached the village gate, mostly to see if he'd turned around. But he hadn't, and I sighed, frowning. I didn't get him, and unlike how it was when I couldn't understand Frey, I didn't feel 'lesser' for it. Instead, I felt like I should've hit him in the head. But I didn't have time for regrets, so I faced forward again and walked out of the village entirely, and returned to the chaos.

"Okay, let's try this…" I muttered, sheathing my sword and flipping through the tome. I winced as the pages 'bit' me with static. "One… two… three…" I brought my hand up and magic lines wrapped around my hand and arm. "Thoron."

The magic converged in front of my hand and I heard the crackle of thunder hum in my ears before the magic shot forward, a literal spear of thunder magic that crashed through soldiers like they were nothing but paper targets. They screamed and fell, the survivors writhing and twitching in pain, little bits of lightning bouncing around the metal of their armor. The grass underneath flattened and burned, leaving a very clear path marked by little bits of smoke and corpses. Some part of me should be horrified, and it was, but…

"That… was so cool!" I cheered, bouncing on my toes. It reminded me of the 'overcharged' thunder spell I'd done, but without the pain and misery. "So awesome! I'm awesome!"

"Oh, there you are." A pegasus swooped near, and I almost greeted 'Caeda', before realizing that this wasn't Caeda at all. It was Catria, actually. "My sister and I just arrived, as 'reinforcements'," she explained. Her little smile told me that they might've manipulated things to make sure they would arrive in time to meet with us. "Prince Marth was looking for you."

"Villager took more time than anticipated," I replied. I held out my hand and she pulled me into the saddle. "Is he inside?"

"Yes, our cavalry, led by that red headed bull of a knight and the quieter green haired one, broke through."

"Cain and Abel." I wasn't surprised they'd led the charge. "Do you want to-?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Catria clicked her tongue and we went up into the air, high overhead. I narrowed my eyes as the wind blasted my face, and took stock of everything. High morale… sense of righteousness… and just better equipped and trained… the results were all too clear. Gra was falling apart piece by piece.

We flew over the field, and to the castle itself. I braced myself for arrows, but none came. Instead, she flew unimpeded and hovered near the outer walls of the castle itself. Cain was there and he held his hands out to catch me as I jumped off. He set me down gently while Catria swooped off again and pointed to a staircase. I gave him a bright smile before racing off, jumping down the stairs five at a time, and sliding down the handrail when one opened up. When I landed, I just ran down the halls, avoiding the sounds of battle on instinct. I just… knew that wouldn't be where I found Marth.

I was soon proven right. I found Marth in a back study, fighting a heavily armored, older man. Both of them were bleeding rather badly and Marth was on the losing edge, so, without thinking, I pulled out Thoron again and angled myself to blast the older man's legs. The force shook the dust from the ceiling and made a few of the paintings on the walls hit the ground hard enough to crack the frames. The windows rattled, and the one closest actually shattered. Marth was blown off his feet, barely avoiding crashing into a bookshelf. The older man _screeched_ in pain, the sound echoing on and on as the lightning bounced up from his leg armor all the way to his chest and head. Even when I stopped the spell, the lightning continued before he fell to his hands and knees, smoke coming off of his body. I smelled burnt flesh and covered my mouth when I noticed his lower left leg, the one closest to me, was utterly ruined. The right one wasn't much better.

"Damn you!" he roared, or tried too. His voice was too raspy. "Damn you! I should've killed you when I had the chance!"

"...Yes, you should've," I whispered. Both Marth and this older man, who had to be Jiol, looked to me. "But you never had the chance." I walked inside and stood next to Marth. "Frey made sure of it."

"Damn you! Like you can do anything!"

"We killed you." I glanced at Marth and he nodded after a moment. "That's something. Unless you're nothing, which, well, sucks to be you."

"He lost himself in fear," Marth murmured. He limped forward, and I winced at his injuries. But this… he needed to do on his own. "Well, Jiol…" He looked down at Jiol, his face a mask of rage and sorrow. "I… I could say this is for my father." He slowly brought the sword above his head. Jiol watched it glint wetly from the blood. "I could say this is for Altea. But those… that will not be the full truth." He took a deep breath and looked Jiol in the eye. Jiol's widened. "This… is for me. This is for me, so that I can walk forward finally. So that I can fulfill Frey's last wish. So that I can finally be the the prince, the king, that I want to be. Yes, this is all for my own sake." He smiled bitterly, anger fading. "I'm sorry for my selfishness, King Jiol."

He swung down and very neatly cut off Jiol's head. The head hit the ground with a wet 'thwump' and it rolled and hit my feet. I glanced at Marth briefly before giving it a good hard kick into the door, knocking it open and sending it down the hall. Marth actually laughed a bit, but then he coughed and bowed his head, choking back tears.

"I know," I whispered. I hugged him and let him rest his head on my shoulder. "I don't feel any better either. But maybe that's the point. Maybe…"

"It's like burning out the infection in a wound," he mumbled. I could only nod and pat his back. It's not like I was good at comforting people. "It still hurts, but eventually, it'll heal. Finally."

"Finally."

"For all of us."

"For all of us."

I held him until we heard Hardin call, and we walked out, covered in blood. Marth had his portrait-perfect smile on, announcing our victory, while I maintained a certain grimness. The wounds, after all, were still there. I could see them, even as he hid them.

This… was what I could do for him. This was my role. I gave him a place to hide. And I rather liked it.

* * *

I got Marth to the infirmary and left Caeda to fuss over him while I joined the clean up crew. Most of Gra surrendered without fuss, and cleaning up was… literally cleaning up. There was a lot of blood and corpses, after all, and then we had to search for Falchion. This was its last known location, after all. With luck, it would be here. Given how things normally were, though, I thought it might be a little more complicated. After all, would our enemy really have left the Falchion, sword famous for killing Medeus, in the hands of a second-rate king who only sided with them out of fear? I doubted it.

"Give me your hands." Diana's voice startled me, and I was more startled when she undid my gloves and began rubbing some sort of balm into them, tucking the ceramic jar in the crook of her elbow. "I was right," she murmured, strangely gentle. "You roughed up your hands."

"...Where did you even come from?" I asked, glancing around. The last I'd seen her, she'd been helping in the infirmary as she normally did after a battle. "I mean…"

"My mother, of course." She grinned as I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." She turned my palm over so that I could see the red blotches. "I noticed these when you dropped off those injured."

"You were elbow deep in someone's intestines."

"All I was doing was holding things together. That doesn't require too much attention." She laughed a little and switched to my other hand, taking off the glove. "You should get better gloves. Maybe gauntlets like what I wear, but I'd talk to Wendell about it."

"...I'll… think about it…" I just held still and let her work. There was something soothing about being fussed over today. "Has anyone found Falchion?"

"No, not yet." She let go of my hands and stopped her jar before tucking it into her pocket. "Oh, right, before I forget. Where did that Thoron tome come from?"

"The tome?" I thought briefly before realizing that she should probably learn. "Well, the answer is simple and stupid. I got it from Camus, who evacuated a village and dropped it into my hands." I barely checked the urge to glower as I remembered that frustration. "What is going on with him? Why does everything have to be complicated? Why is he so concerned anyway?" I couldn't help but rattle the questions off. "Seriously, what the hell?"

"That's…" She paused and then, to my surprise, snagged my hand and dragged me into another room, shutting the door behind us. "Okay. How to start…"

"Oh, shit, I actually get answers?" I half-expected her to be vague again, or run off to tell Nyna. "Well then." I looked around, and jumped onto a table to sit. We were in some sort of break room or something, but I didn't feel like sitting on a chair. "Maybe in order?"

"Mmm…" She sighed and leaned against the door. "I'm not sure if it's mine to say, but…" She hesitated before continuing. "I'm… I know that Nyna needs more friends. And I also know that I'll need help doing what I want to do. So, I'll answer… to a point." She closed her eyes, and fell silent. I waited, even though I was antsy. "The reason… Nyna and Camus fell in love. During the year and a half we were here in Archanea, they fell in love."

"...And that makes things complicated?" I frowned, expecting something more. But then I realized something. "Wait, but he's the enemy. Then again, you did tell me how you considered him a friend…"

"Not only an enemy, but the one who conquered Archanea. With help." She shrugged. "So, two lovers on opposite sides of the war, where everyone will want to keep them separated. Throw in their devotion to duty, their self-hatred, their not-so-certain that the feelings are right…" She sighed. "It becomes a mess."

"But, they love each other." I brought the tome out of my pack and looked at it, noticing the power even with it closed. "He… risked getting caught, just to get us another powerful weapon. He specifically told me to tell you and her to be safe."

"Yes, which tells me that he still loves her, just as she still loves him. Politics, though..."

"Screw politics. 'Politics' is just an excuse to not do things." I huffed and she actually laughed. "What?"

"You're so refreshing."

"...I'm taking that as a compliment." Though I did have to fight the urge to pout. "So, you mentioned wanting to do something. So, screw the politics with you too?"

"Of course. I am Nyna's bodyguard. I protect her from everything, including well-meaning people who think too much of politics and not enough on the girl wearing the crown." She smiled warmly. "I'm doing my best to make sure she stands on her own, but nothing will stop me from doing what I can to make sure she's safe and happy. We're just working on how I can do that while still remaining very healthy."

"Sure." I shrugged, smiling now. I couldn't help it. "What's your plan, though?"

"...I want to drag Camus to us. I want them to be happy." She smiled wryly. "I have no 'plan' yet, though. I just know that if I'm going to pull something like that off… I can't expect my luck to kick in."

"Well, let me know what I can do, okay?" I smiled. "And, in exchange, you help me with Marth and Caeda?"

"After Altea. We're far too close for him to be distracted." She grinned, though. "After that, I'm sure we can come up with some very convenient ways to throw them together. I've a few in mind, actually."

"Perfect~!" I laughed, feeling strangely relaxed. "What'll be the plan once you drag him?"

"Again, no idea, but hey, maybe we can just have the royals be like 'Nyna has suffered enough, stop giving her a hard time'." She shrugged, but I nodded, already making little plans. Nyna was close to Caeda. I'd be willing to bet Nyna had at least told her _something_. And Marth wanted her to be happy too. "Regardless, though, that's about all I think I can say."

"That's enough for me to finally know what the hell is going on." I made a face. "Keeping secrets like that…"

"I'm afraid I'm still used to when it was just Nyna and me, and trusting people as a mercenary is just begging for death." She smiled bitterly. "Anyway, that went longer than I thought. I'm supposed to be helping Astram."

"Sorry." I shrugged and jumped off the table. "But I thought you needed to know."

"No, I did. Thank you." She opened the door and left then, without really a 'proper' goodbye. But I shrugged, accepting it. She had more on her mind now, and I did as well. Once Altea was freed… once Altea was freed, I had a feeling there would be a new operation underneath 'kill Medeus'. 'Make sure Marth and Nyna get happy endings, damn it.' Some part of me felt bad because it was selfish, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel eager to get started.

So, I was giggling when I left the room, and felt in a remarkably good mood as I walked down the hall. The mood faded slightly when I saw Marth standing in the hall talking to someone I didn't recognize, but that was mostly because of how strained his smile was. I doubted the person saw it, though.

"I must admit, Sheena, that I didn't expect to see you," Marth was saying. I tried to think of why the name was familiar, before remembering it as the name of Jiol's daughter. This… was the Princess of Gra. "Though, I'm not sure why. It's your home."

"Well, I didn't exactly stick around after my father decided to be an idiot," Sheena replied bluntly. She smiled slightly, but she held herself tense. "I thought I'd flee to Archanea, but didn't have a chance before it fell, so I've been hiding in a village. It's been fun." She shrugged. "But when I heard you were here, Marth, I decided to follow and see what I can do. I arrived not long after you killed him."

"I see…" Marth got a conflicted look on his face. "Sheena, I-"

"Nope." She leaned down and prodded his cheek. "No, no apologies. Don't be sorry. He deserved it. And if you're only sorry because you're looking at me, then you're not _really_ sorry. You just want some reassurance." She smiled warmly at him, though there was some pain in it. "So, here is my reassurance. You did what you had to do. There was no way my father would've surrendered peacefully. And, in exchange for my not getting mad, you give me the chance to rebuild the trust he broke. Deal?"

"...I'm honored you want to." Marth smiled back, and this time, it wasn't strained. "Thank you, Sheena. It's a deal."

"Good, good." She glanced up at me then, and did a double-take. "Uh… Marth, I thought you had _one_ sister."

"I do? Elice? You've met her?"

"And she is…?" Sheena pointed at me. "Besides someone who looks like you."

"Do we?" Marth looked confused, and he only became more confused when he turned and saw me. "Oh, hey, Kris."

"Hey yourself," I replied, shrugging. He and I had the same hair color, sure, but I wouldn't have thought we'd look so much alike that someone else would think we're related. Then again, it wasn't something I spent time analyzing. "I'm Kris, Sheena. Pretty boy's friend."

"She saved me when Altea fell," Marth helpfully added. Sheena continued looking back and forth between us with a little frown. "Anyway…" He returned his attention to me. "Any luck on Falchion?"

"Not that I've heard." I smiled sympathetically as Marth sighed. "I know; I know. But I doubt they could destroy it."

"Yes, but…"

"Wait, you're looking for Falchion?" Sheena asked. When we nodded, her face turned grim. "You're in trouble. Last I heard, Gharnef took it back with him to Khadein. And Gharnef… isn't exactly killable."

"Of course he did," Marth muttered. He sighed, and closed his eyes. "But we need Falchion for Medeus. Even Bantu, the dragon _we_ have, says we'll need it."

"Yes, but…" She hesitated. "It's Gharnef. He can't die, or so the stories go. Maybe if you could contact Gotoh…"

"That's true, and our best bet for that is in Khadein as well. So, I suppose we'll march for it in the morning." He shrugged, opening his eyes. "It pains me to turn away from Altea when we're so close, but…"

"Marth…"

"Relax. I won't overextend. If it appears too much, we will pull back. But it's only in our best interests to liberate Khadein anyway." He smiled warmly. "Have faith, Sheena."

"...Oh, alright." She smiled back and reached over to ruffle his hair. "But for tonight, you're having a proper meal. Give me a moment, and we'll get you a nice little feast for you and yours."

That 'little feast' ended up being a rather rousing party, all things considered. It seemed that the people of Gra really were happy to escape Jiol. It was almost pitiable, but I just focused on enjoying myself with Marth, Cain, Abel, and the other Altean knights. I thought we deserved it.

* * *

 _Notes on Jeorge:_

 _The heir to one of Archanea's Great Houses, technically the head of it all things considered, and known as Archanea's greatest sniper. Strangle humble, given the reputation._

 _Skilled and strong, but his greatest aspect seems to be his uncanny ability to predict everything on a battlefield and to never waste a shot._

 _Known for his loyalty, but more importantly, for not being blind with said loyalty. If he thinks someone is being stupid, he'll tell them, even if he respects them._

* * *

Author's note: This chapter actually has a _glorious_ opening scene and I'm sad I had to leave it out since Kris would've hear it. Sheena is a character from FE12, and is Jiol's daughter from his second wife. She's not mentioned in FE1 or FE11, but _is_ mentioned by Jiol in his death quote in FE3's Book 1. Background materials reveal she hated her father's betrayal and thus fled to Pales, but I chose to have her simply be at a village on the border to bring her in for this.

Next Chapter - Oasis of Magic


	28. Chapter 13) Oasis of Magic

Chapter 13) Oasis of Magic

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _Khadein was less a country, and more of a city with expanses of desert to keep invaders away. Founded by Gotoh, the White Sage, it's been a sanctuary for magic users for decades, perhaps even centuries. However, shortly after Altea's fall, Nefy took over and made himself king of the desert. Many have tried to oust him, but the mages of Khadein are strong. Thunder and fire… ice and insects… one by one, the knights fall._

 _And now here we were, because there was a chance Falchion was here. Gods, we're idiots._

* * *

I hated the desert. It was too hot in the day, and too cold at night. It was too sandy. Every step was a workout that I didn't want. Clothes stuck to the skin, and taking them off brought no relief as the sun continued to beat down and burn. The infirmary was filled with people dealing with heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and bad sunburns.

"Our water supplies are low," I murmured, wincing as I carried another bucket of water towards the infirmary. They had run out, again. "How are the mounts doing?"

"Thankfully, we've not lost any," Astram said. He was carrying bundles of cloth, to set up some sort of cover and provide more shade near the infirmary. "Near miss with Palla's pegasus. Thankfully, Abel had been checking on his own horse."

"Why wasn't Palla near again?"

"She was fetching water for her pegasus." He glanced at me. "You alright?"

"Yes?" I gave him a confused look. "If you're worried about the bucket, I'm just walking carefully to not slosh."

"Of course." He got a conflicted look on his face. "You've… ah… also been avoiding Jeorge."

"Did Midia tell you to check on me?" I groaned, rolling my eyes, when he nodded. "She's such a mother hen, and that's _from_ a mother hen!"

"She's a fretter, yes." He smiled slightly. "But she's also worried about… something about bad habits?"

"Nyna and I have been doing quite well on that front." Mostly, though, it was because I'd taken up a lot of chores. I just couldn't sit still. "I appreciate her worry, but I want to point out that Jeorge is avoiding me too." Though the reminder made me feel… conflicted. I wasn't sure if it was because he was really thinking, or if he'd decided I was too much trouble. I thought, and hoped, it was the former. I worried it was the latter. And I kept all my worries to myself out of fear of being seen as an idiot.

"That's true. He's been so silent, and not nearly as teasing." Astram smiled at me, and freed up a hand to ruffle my hair. "Well, so long as you're alright, I won't push."

"I think so. Certainly nothing that's interfering with my duties." I smiled as we came up on the infirmary. "Maria, I'm back!"

"Oh, thank goodness!" Maria rushed out of the infirmary, smiling brightly. "Thank you very much, Diana~!" she said, darting around the bucket to give me a hug. She was careful to not jostle me. "Astram, Julian is here to help you set up."

"You mean he's here to try and impress Sister Lena," Astram corrected. He grinned as Maria laughed. "Alright. Let's get a little shade around here."

"Thank you!" Maria headed back for the entrance and pulled it back to make it easier for me to come in. "In, in!"

"Yes, yes," I laughed, carefully walking inside and setting the bucket in it's 'spot', a safe distance from anything that could knock things over. Then I groaned, leaning back to stretch. "Ugh, god, why are we in the damn desert?"

"Language!" Maria frowned as she came over and gave me a towel. "Language!"

"Darn desert." I sighed, but I gave her another hug before toweling the sweat off. My clothes felt permanently stuck to my skin, as did my hair. "Is there a hair tie?"

"Here!" She pulled one out of her pocket. "Nyna said you'd need one."

"She knows me well." I draped the towel over my arm and drew my hair into a simple ponytail. I wrinkled my nose as I registered the smell of sweat. Everyone was so bad off that you almost became inured, but sometimes, you just caught a nose-full. "Need anything from me?"

"Another hug?"

"You're incorrigible." Still, I did give her another hug before nudging her back off to her duties. Then I headed over to the dirty clothes pile to drop off the towel, and headed over to Lena, who was healing up some blisters that had formed on poor Gordin's legs. Gordin, thankfully, was asleep during it.

I noticed her hair was sticking to her neck, and quietly asked Maria for a second hair tie. She produced one with ease, making me wonder if she hoarded them, and then I returned to Lena, tapping her on the shoulder to let her know I was there. She nodded in quiet acknowledgement, and I worked on braiding her hair to help her get a little cooler. I also noticed that she, and Maria, would probably want to change clothes soon; the sweat had made their dresses a little on the translucent side.

"Thank you for that," Lena murmured, setting her staff in her lap. I finished up the braid and stepped back, letting her stand. "Maria and I need to change clothes. Do you mind standing in here with Nyna?"

"Of course not," I replied, smiling. "You guys might want to reconsider the white. You're more than welcome to borrow my clothes."

"Oh, good, because Nyna snagged some of yours already for her and me." She laughed softly; I laughed outright. "But Maria is so small."

"She can wear someone's shirt. Given how bloody hot everything is, no one is going to begrudge her." I shrugged while she got a thoughtful look. "Seriously, if we have guys and gals running around without their shirts, I think we can deal with a little kid wearing someone's shirt like a dress. Why not ask Minerva?

"That's true." She laughed. "Alright. We'll be back shortly."

"Take your time." I waved them off and did a quick check on everyone, changing out cool water cloths, and reassuring those who whimpered from pain.

Only when I was done with that did I head over to Nyna, who was tending to another badly burned person, though not one I recognized. I rested my hands on her shoulders and squeezed reassuringly as I noticed her hands shaking slightly. She was exhausted. All of the healers were.

When she finished healing the soldier up, she leaned back in her chair with a sigh and looked up at me. "I swear you cast some spell on my hair," she told me very seriously. "The bun has stayed up despite all evidence to the contrary."

"Never estimate the power of a hairpin," I teased with a smile. She laughed in reply. "So, you stole my clothes."

"Borrowed. I was tired of the dress clinging to my legs and making me trip."

"It's fine. This heat is horrible." I patted her shoulders. "But we are within sight of Khadein, or so I'm told. There was a hazy city in the distance, but I'm not convinced it's not a mirage."

"Oh, good. We can replenish our healing supplies." She frowned suddenly. "Hey, Diana, do you mind if I ask a favor?"

"What is it? Do I need to muzzle Boah?"

"No, no, and I'm doing rather well on that front thanks to Caeda and Minerva." She laughed, frown disappearing. "Minerva told me that if he brings up marriage one more time, I should just throw him."

"She would." I grinned, relaxing. We both knew Boah was just trying to plan for the future, but gods, Nyna was just so drained. I was glad she was bonding with Minerva and Caeda. "Now, that favor?"

"Oh, right." She sighed, smile fading. "I'm worried about Linde. Gharnef is said to be here, and…"

"You want me to keep an eye on her, then?" I nodded, understanding completely. Gharnef was a powerful enemy and one rumored to be unable to die. "As soon as Lena and Maria get back, I'll handle that, then."

"Thanks, Diana." She smiled again, this time in relief. "Thanks."

Nyna and I tended to the patients a while longer before Lena and Maria returned, Lena in my clothes, and Maria skipping happily in an oversized shirt. I checked that there wasn't anything they needed and went to find Linde, expecting her to be with Merric or Wendell like usual.

But she wasn't. They didn't know where she was. A quick search turned up nothing. A long one turned up even less. And it wasn't until I asked the people on watch that I discovered just why that was. Linde… had left camp 'for a quick walk', and hadn't returned.

Whose bright idea was it to _not_ watch the girl who lost her father traumatically? Oh, dear gods.

* * *

I requested permission to leave camp, under the guise of being worried Linde had been overcome by the heat while outside walking. Prince Marth had approved, of course, and suggested more people, but I refused, pointing out that a battle could break out at any moment. Besides, I had a good guess where she'd gone, and there was no way I'd sneak more than one person in. I wasn't even sure _I_ could sneak in and almost recruited Julian or Kris. I only didn't because I'd heard Hardin mention that Kris and Julian were needed for some of their strategies.

It was still nerve-wracking, getting into Khadein. Thankfully, they didn't really watch the entrance all that well, clearly depending on their outer forces to keep them safe. And inside… well, there wasn't anyone. Dust and sand blew through empty streets, and as I snuck through the alleyways, I caught sight of empty buildings. I even hid in a couple, to avoid being spotted, and saw them stripped bare. People who'd managed escape before Gharnef closed the city off.

I winced as I heard the sounds of distant fighting, feeling guilty for not guarding the infirmary as I normally did. But I hunted for Linde anyway, very certain that if I did not find her soon, no one would ever find her, not even her corpse.

The sound of an explosion, close by, cut through my thoughts. And then I was _gone_. I rushed through the streets, not bothering to hide as I hunted for the source of that sound. No smoke to tip me off, but the sounds of a fight did help me figure out how to orient myself. But as I ran, panic flooded me because I could only think of one reason why there would be a fight.

I slipped on sand and crashed into a wall. I ignored it. I passed startled mages, who shrieked at me. I ignored them. My lungs burned. I ignored it. My legs screamed. I ignored it. The sun beat down on my head and back. I ignored it. The heat suffocated me. I ignored it. My ankle throbbed as I made a particularly sharp turn. I ignored it.

At one point, I abandoned the road and just swung in through windows and kicked down crumbling walls just to shorten the distance. Glass cut my face. I ignored it. The stone scraped my palms. I ignored it. I just kept running until I could hear a trembling voice shouting something defiantly, and a low, echoing, otherworldly laugh threatened to swallow it whole.

It was loudest at a cathedral looking building, and I jumped inside through an open window, a piece of glass going straight through my hand. I ignored it. Instead, I took quick stock of what was going on. Shattered windows and glass all over the place. Wooden splinters from destroyed pews. Some old guy in desperate need of better clothes and some sort of exfoliation for his skin based on how grey-purple it was, laughing on a pedestal with purple flames wrapping around him. Linde, bruised and battered, clutching Aura tightly as she glared up at the old man, her hair out of the normal ponytail and dress in need of serious repairs.

I threw my sword at the man, knowing it wasn't going to serve as anything but a distraction, and lunged for Linde, snatching her up and dragging her out the door. Another explosion made the ground shake and my ears ring, and I twisted, making sure I took the brunt of whatever it was. Searing pain whipped across my back, and I glanced back, morbidly curious. The smoke and purple flames hinted that the old man had thrown the spell at the sword on instinct, and I'd… just caught the edge of it.

Then there was nothing more to think, because the explosion had destabilized something and the building started to crumble, so I just kept a tight grip on Linde and ran as hard as I could.

"S-stop!" Linde gasped out. I ignored her, looking for some place to hide. "Stop! I need to… Gharnef is still…!"

"Quiet!" I snapped back. I stumbled and wondered why, before I realized it was just my legs starting to give out. Too much running in too short of a time, and the pain I was in didn't help matters. "You'll give… here!" I ran into a side-building, with the door opening to an alley way instead of the main street, and tossed her in before closing the door behind us. I leaned against it briefly, struggling to breath, and noticing the blood dripping down.

"What are you doing here?!" Linde's shrieking made me straighten and I turned to face her. She glared at me with all the intensity she'd been glaring at that old man. "Gharnef was right there!" she yelled. "I could've killed him! With Aura!"

"It looked like you were about to die to me." I kept my voice calm, mostly because I recognized what was going on. She was lashing. She had vengeance in front of her, and it had been snatched away. "So, a thank you might be needed."

"I had it under control!"

"So, glowering on the floor is under control? That's news to me." I couldn't help but let a little sarcasm through anyway. "Linde, what were you thinking?"

"I wanted to kill Gharnef! For my dad! For everyone he's killed!" She stamped her foot, still clinging to Aura. "I almost had him!"

"Again, didn't look that way to me, and worse, you left without telling anyone. I'm only here because Nyna thought to have someone look after you." I shrugged, and winced, pain rippling through me. The healers were going to kill me. "But, Linde, your dad was strong, right?"

"Yes, he was the best! That's why…!"

"So, if he couldn't kill Nefy, in all his strength and experience, what made you think you could?" I waited for an answer, but Linde actually didn't reply right away. Instead, she got a rather lost look on her face. "He had Aura. He had power. He had skill. And he fell."

"That's… that's just because he was protecting me!" Her voice went high and cracked. "If he hadn't been protecting me… if I hadn't been there…!"

"He still would've died. Because Nefy is a fucking cheating bastard, or so I'm told. The only difference is that you wouldn't have had to see it." I brought a hand up to try and wave off the harshness of the words, but winced as I realized something. "Oh, wow, no wonder I'm dizzy."

"…Why are you bleeding?!" Linde's eyes widened, and I could almost laugh at how long it took her to realize. "Oh gods, you're bleeding a lot!"

"I picked up a couple of injuries along the way." I sighed and looked around the room before settling in a chair and pulling out my pack. "Thank the gods for Lena and her insisting on a medical kit. I'm assuming you don't have one."

"…N-no…" Linde paled as she stared at the injuries. "U-um…"

"Do you mind if I bandage myself up first? You look bad, but I've got-"

"Oh, gods, I'm sorry!" She dropped Aura and covered her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears, and she went even paler. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Linde?" I stared, startled. I didn't expect… "Linde?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm-!"

"Linde!" I made myself get up and I hugged her tightly, tugging her down slightly so that I could rest her head against my shoulder. She was trembling. "Deep breaths. I'll count with you."

"I'm-!"

"You're fine. You'll be fine. Concentrate on your breathing. Okay? One… two… three…" I slowly counted to ten, repeatedly, and after a moment, Linde managed to sync her breathing to it. There were hitches and hiccups, but after a moment, it evened out. Only then did I let go, and I studied her face. "Hey."

"H-hi…" Her voice still shook, and her eyes wavered. "I'm…"

"Linde, can you help me?"

"Y-yes!" Her eyes focused again. "Um… what do I need to do?"

"Main thing is getting the worst of this bandaged up, like my hand, and possibly my back." I sat back down in the chair and took off my shirt. "I caught part of his attack."

"It's… oh gods…" Her hands trembled as she rested her hand on my shoulder. "I… I think it took away some skin? Or a lot of skin? Though, I'd think you'd be in more pain, so maybe it's just some sort of gash, but that spell is so weird… F-father didn't feel any pain in his last moment, but…"

"Then I really need to get bandaged up." I pointed to the pack. "There's some elixirs in there, among other things. Let's get that on me."

"R-right…!" Linde proceeded to do that, and in the mostly silence, treated my back. I handled tending to the rest of my injuries, mostly to save on time. I was worried about my hand, but Linde was alive. If I hadn't taken those risks, she'd be dead. So, I considered it even, though I knew I'd get lectures in camp. Hopefully, next time, I could save someone _without_ getting horribly injured.

We spent that time in silence, broken by the occasional apology from her and the occasional reassurance from me. After we got me bandaged, with Linde using most of an Elixir for just my back and me using the rest for my hand, I switched to tending to her injures, though it took a bit to convince her to take my chair. As I cleaned off the dust, I noted her injuries weren't as bad as they could've been were mostly bruises with the occasional scrape. She'd done a good job dodging. It seemed like she'd run out of stamina, and that was why she'd simply glared as Nefy prepared the last bloow.

"We're going to want to hide out here a little while, just in case Nefy is looking for us," I told her as I tied off the last bandage. "Hopefully, though, the others will take Khadein soon. I think Nefy will want to leave after bringing a cathedral on his head."

"Will you be okay?" Linde asked. Her voice sounded small and she curled into herself a little. "I mean…"

"Elixirs are expensive and time consuming to make, but they're well worth it. I'll need to see a healer before the end of the day, but baring something unexpected, I'll be good." I smiled, and looked around before sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. Almost instantly, Linde did the same. "So. Why did you come out here?"

"I… I wanted revenge…" She looked down at her lap, fingers twisting into the fabric. "I thought… I don't know… I could do it. He mocked Father before he killed him. Mocked Aura's might. I…"

"You wanted to prove him wrong."

"Yes…" She glanced up at me tentatively. "Though, there was… another reason too…"

"And that was?"

"…I wanted… to prove myself… worthy… of being here…" Her voice got softer and softer, and I had to strain to hear it. "Because… I'm rather… redundant…"

"Oh?"

"Yes…" She looked down again. "I mean… I'm powerful, yes, but given everyone's lack of magical resistance, being extra powerful isn't much." She drooped. "Merric is skilled. He knows way more magic theory than I do, and he knows just where to hit. And then Kris is just plain awesome." She sighed gustily. "Magic _and_ swords? And that Thoron spell was super cool! She's like… a magic knight from the stories! And here I am. With a powerful magic thing and that's it."

"…That's…" I couldn't help it. I started laughing. "Oh, dear Gods…"

"Why are you laughing?!" She bristled, annoyed. "It's… it's not-!"

"I think you and Kris just need to sit down and talk. She only took up swords because she felt like she was falling behind you and Merric. I think." I smiled as she simply stared. "But why were you worried about that?"

"W-well, I have to…" But even as she tried to defend herself, her voice cracked and tears filled her eyes. "I…"

"Yes?"

"…I thought… if I wasn't useful… I'd be left behind… somewhere 'safe'… like when…" She hiccupped and the threatened tears fell. "Like when… Father died…"

"You were scared of being abandoned." I sighed and held out my arm to her. "Come here." I smiled again when she stared, again, this time because she just couldn't quite… process this. "Come here, you silly. You can cry."

"B-but there's a f-fight…" Her voice cracked again, thick with tears as she cried harder. "War… and… and…"

"I cried over a _boy_ days ago and I wasn't teased. I think you crying over losing your family, and out of fear of being alone again. Especially the latter. I'm scared of being alone too."

"R-really?"

"Really, really." I smiled and waited. There was a split-second more of staring before Linde threw herself at me, taking the offered hug and sobbing. I winced as she accidentally jostled my injury, but wrapped my arms around her. I patted her back and stroked her hair, shifting to be a little more comfortable. "Okay, so the story I used to leave was that I worried you'd been overcome by the heat. We'll say that you got lost, crept too close to Khadein, and then got caught. Nice and simple."

"But it's a lie…"

"And you may tell who you wish the truth, but this will be the 'official' version, okay? It'll make sure you don't get into as much trouble." I moved her slightly, so that I could hold her more securely, and rested my cheek against her hair. "So, for now, just keep on crying, Linde. It's okay. No need to wall it up anymore."

She took up my offer and cried and cried and cried. I held her through it, whispering reassuring words. My back stung from my injury, but I didn't move or tell her to stop. It was clearly something she needed, but hadn't known how to ask for. I could be there for her, though. I certainly didn't mind.

* * *

Linde did eventually stop crying, though not before her face was blotchy red, and her nose ran. She made a face as I used a handkerchief in the pack to clean her face, but she didn't protest. Afterwards, the two of us cleaned up the area, checked our injuries, and carefully left the building, sticking to the shadows. Unfortunately, though, it quickly became clear that most of Khadein's fighting force was right at the gates, which meant a couple of things. One, our forces were close. Two, there was no way we were getting out without a lot of luck and even more trouble.

"So, we might just want to just hang out here," I murmured, ducking into an alley. Linde followed my lead faithfully, clutching Aura to her chest. "Any ideas of what you'd like to do?"

"Besides hide?" Linde asked with a little nervous laugh. I wondered how she'd even gotten in, and had a horrible feeling that Nefy might've just _let_ her in, just to kill her. "I'm not sure. I mean… maybe free hostages?"

"Hmm?"

"You hear the rumors, you know? About Gharnef keeping hostages?" She shrugged, ducking her head. "So, maybe look for them?"

"Maybe we…" I trailed off as I realized something. Nefy might, _might_ , have… "Jubelo and Yuliya."

"Huh?"

"They're two children I heard Nefy took."

"Why do you call him 'Nefy' anyway?"

"Same reason I call Medy, 'Medy'. I see no point in using their names." I smiled slightly. "So, shall we hunt?"

"Yes!" She winced as the sound bounced back. "Oh, that was loud…"

"As good of a reason as any to get moving then." I took her arm and tugged her deeper into the alley. "I wonder where all the people are."

"Assuming they're not fighting, they might be below?" She followed me closely, wincing as her dress caught on some loose nails and ripped. "Father studied here, so he told me about it."

"Did he tell you how to get there?"

"Nooooo…?" She drew the word out, clearly thinking. "Oh, wait, maybe. He mentioned using it to hide from church things, so maybe close?" Her eyes widened. "Oh, but that's…"

"Let's make our way towards, but hope for another." I flashed her a smile over my shoulder. "Come on."

The two of us made our slow way back to the cathedral area, hiding carefully when we noticed a couple of people wandering about. After a moment, I decided to actually follow those people, and got lucky. We saw them open a door hidden in the ground and descend. After a long moment of waiting, we followed, though it was difficult to open the stupid thing. It was heavy. Then, very carefully, we descended, closing the door behind us.

I almost immediately regretted it, since the area was pitch black and the staircase on a sharp decline. So, it was slow going, with a couple of near slips that made my heart pound. Linde nearly fell into me at one point, but she caught herself on the wall before she did. Both of us breathed a sigh of relief when we reached the bottom, but not for long. It was still dark, and we had no way to know where to go. So, we just walked, slowly and carefully, keeping a hand on the right wall.

We caught murmurings after a moment, and I paused, wondering if we should continue on. But since there seemed to be no other way to go, I continued leading the way. Linde grabbed the back of my shirt to keep from getting lost, and I felt her tense more and more as the murmuring grew louder and louder. Until we stepped into a room with a surprising amount of light, given that we had seen not even a glower before, and filled to the walls with people. They all looked at us, and no small few produced tomes. These were the mages of Khadein, the ones Gharnef did not control. And… they were probably going to kill us.

"Easy, easy!" I called, bringing my hands up. Linde stepped out from behind me and did the same. "My name is Diana. I'm with Princess Nyna and Prince Marth."

"And I'm Linde, daughter of Pontifex Miloah," Linde added. There was some murmuring and shifting at her name. "If any doubt that, then look to the tome I hold: Aura."

"…Well, it's powerful enough for it, I suppose." One young man stepped out of the crowd, pushing his hair back. I actually recognized the tome he carried, but that was because it was Thoron, the same tome Kris had. "And I recognize the name Linde," he continued, eyes narrowed. "Can't say I've heard of any 'Diana', though."

"Well, I introduced myself to be polite, not to have you recognize me," I pointed out dryly. Linde giggled. "You are?"

"Arlen, a student of Master Wendell."

"Oh, Wendell. He's in the army with Merric." I frowned as I noticed his eyes narrowed. "So, here's the thing. Friendly army near, hopefully you guys are all free soon. Linde and I, here, are curious about something."

"If it's Gharnef, he already left. Cited boredom."

"Or he was embarrassed from blasting the cathedral on his own head," Linde grumbled. This time _I_ giggled, but I quickly hid it. "Anyway, good to know, but not what we're looking for." She smiled sweetly. "We were wondering if Gharnef had hostages, and thought we'd try to look into it."

"I don't think he's got any _living_ hostages," Arlen replied. He sounded indifferent, but I had to hide my wince. "He's killed a bunch and used their corpses for it. But, if you'd like…" He pointed to a wall, and someone else pushed against it, revealing a secret door. "That leads to where he would throw bodies. Maybe someone is alive."

"Thank you, so much, for your help." Linde kept smiling sweetly, but her voice got quite dry. "Diana?"

"Yes, let's go check it out," I replied lightly. I bowed, and waved. "Pleasure talking to you."

Linde and I quickly made our way through the crowd of people, just not even paying attention before darting down the hallway. When we did, though, and we were safely out of sight, we both shared a 'ugh, I wanted to punch him' look. Though, we did have to be fair; he likely didn't know children were among them. Or maybe he had and just didn't care anymore. We had no idea.

So, we walked. And walked. And walked. The light disappeared quickly, making me wonder if there was some sort of enchantment to hide the light, as a safety precaution. I didn't know _if_ magic could do that, but this was Khadein, where magic was studied. If someone told me there was a huge lake underneath filled with only magic, I'd believe it.

After a moment, though, the smell of death started to creep in, and it wasn't long after that we saw why. Blood made the floor slick, and crusted along the walls. And when we opened a door, the first one we'd found, we were treated with a bunch of corpses in various states of decay, perfectly visible thanks to _this_ place having torches.

"So, if I have to choose which of our enemies is worse, I think I'm going with Nefy," I commented lightly. I rubbed Linde's back when I noticed how green she was. "Okay. Let's see if there's any alive."

"U-um…" Linde hesitated and tugged my sleeve. "I can… sense someone's magic, I think," she murmured. She pointed down the way with a shaking hand. "Somewhere over there? I don't think its Gharnef. It's weak, and not as… scary."

"Would a dead mage give it off?"

"Not that I know of?" She sighed, looking down. And then she turned her gaze up, because 'down' was covered in blood and someone's hand. "I was just getting the lesson from Father when… everything happened."

"Well, it's a better lead than anything." I took her hand and walked forward. She whimpered as we stepped in a large puddle of blood. "I will clean and fix your dress when we get back. Don't let anyone else touch it, okay?"

"Okay…" She sighed. "I got this from Father shortly before everything too. It had been for my birthday."

"Then definitely don't let anyone but me handle it. I'll get it back to normal." I glanced over my shoulder and smiled. It let me ignore how I couldn't quite avoid stepping on corpses. "So long as it's not a glove, I can mend it!"

"You can't mend gloves?"

"I'm horrible at it. I know; it's strange."

"It's funny." She even laughed softly before gasping and pointing to a door. "There! In there!"

"Alright…" We stopped at the door and I tried to open it. Locked, of course. And, worse, it looked like a lock that you couldn't quite bang open easily, so I looked at Linde. "Can you blow the lock off? I also can't pick locks."

"Mmm… I can try to catch it with a glancing blow of Aura?" She smiled sheepishly. "I… only brought it."

"So, we might just want to go with the 'bang until open strategy'."

"Yes, unfortunately. Or… hmm…" She got close to the door and knocked. "Hey, whoever is in there, if you can, back away from the door!" There was the sound of something scrambling. Maybe even two somethings. "Okay…" She breathed in deeply and stepped back, and down the hall a bit. "Diana, I am actually going to try that glancing blow. I just realized how I can make it work."

"Okay…?" I hesitated before shrugging and running to duck behind her. "How?"

"Aura works through wrapping rings around the target and then filling that pillar with magic. So…" She frowned and concentrated. Her hand glowed and small lights flickered just in front of the door, slowly becoming rings. "If I… make the rings smaller… and make one form above and below…" Sweat dripped down her neck. I rested my hands on her shoulders reassuringly. "Maybe?"

There was a quick flash of light, the sound of something rushing, and the smell of something burning. And when it cleared, the lock was… still there, as was the door. But before Linde could look disappointed, I went to check the door and noticed something.

"It's already splintered," I informed her. She smiled then, delighted, before crouching down, sighing in relief. "So, not quite what you hoped, but not a complete failure."

"It's a barely passing," she joked, lifting her head again. She was very pale, and more sweat trickled down her face. "Ugh, I'm never doing it again, though."

"Don't say that. The gods will decide to make a liar of you." I took a step back, and then twisted, kicking the door. It buckled a bit more, and I smiled, glad that I wouldn't have to try and ram it with my shoulder. I was injured enough. "One more?" Another kick, and a little bit more of a break. "Two more?" More or less the same thing. "…Three?"

It took five kicked before the door finally broke enough for me to get inside, and even then, it was mostly the frame had given up, which suited me fine. It took less to climb inside, and allowed more light in, which was… either good or bad. Bad for me, since it meant I could see just how bad off the two children in here were, thoroughly malnourished and looking almost delirious, but it was probably good for them. They could see I wasn't Nefy.

"Prince Jubelo? Princess Yuliya?" I called softly. One, the little boy, Prince Jubelo, whimpered, while the girl glared. "Hey, I'm…" I took a step towards them and both flinched. So, instead I stepped back and crouched down, holding out my hand. "My name is Diana. I'm with the Archanean army."

"W-why would you be here?" Princess Yuliya snapped. She tried to look tough, but her face was gaunt, and her voice crackled. "You're… you…" She coughed, and the boy patted her back with a far too thin hand. "A-ah…"

"M-miss, can you move more into the light?" Prince Jubelo asked. He looked exhausted, too tired to think. "We can't…"

"Of course," I agreed, shifting to the side a bit. Linde peeked in briefly before turning away, hopefully standing guard. "Better?"

"Mhm…" He fell silent, and so did his twin sister. I simply sat there, and waited. And waited. And waited.

Eventually, it was Princess Yuliya who broke the silence. "You…" she began. She looked confused. "You look like Rosie… Rosalind."

The name hit me like a brick, but at the same time, I couldn't help but be smile. "Of House Cavard?" I asked. My smile grew as she nodded. "Then she's… my sister. I'm the one who ran away."

"Oh… yeah, she… mentioned something like… that…"

"And I realized I never properly answered your question. While we are in Khadein due to the whim of the army, I am looking for you two specifically because Camus told me you'd been kidnapped."

"C-camus?!" Her face lit up. "I-Is Camus with you?"

"No, I'm afraid not…" I felt so bad at how fast her face fell. "Not yet, at least. I hope he will be."

"O-oh…" Princess Yuliya glanced at her brother, hesitant. But Prince Jubelo continued looking at me and, surprisingly, he started crawling towards me. "J-Jubelo!"

"It's fine," he whispered. His voice was scratchy too, but his smile was kind as he took my outstretched hand. He felt so fragile that I was sure he'd break. "I can tell… she's not lying…" He looked back and held out his hand to her. "Come on… We're… we're safe…"

"Yes, you are," I reassured. Princess Yuliya's expression crumbled and she crawled over too, snatching Prince Jubelo's hand before half crawling into my lap. "I will get you out of here. You're safe. You're finally safe." And I would tell them the words as many times as they needed. Because that was what I could do.

Let someone try to take them from me. I'd split them in two.

* * *

It took very careful work to get Jubelo and Yuliya out of that room, and even then, it took more work to carry them both. They were far, _far_ , too weak to walk, and Linde frightened them, so that meant I mostly had to tend to them while she led and guarded us. Thankfully, by the time we found a way out, without going backwards through the corpse infested hallway, our army firmly had Khadein freed and so, I could just get them to the healers as soon as possible, while Linde reported for me. Of course, there was the complication of the two panicking when I was out of sight, but I didn't mind lingering, and Lena didn't mind indulging them. Especially since I was injured as well, and it actually did them some good to see me being treated too, though Nyna scolded me the whole while.

"Goodness, I didn't expect to end up with roommates," I laughed, covering the two with a blanket. They were fast asleep in the room I'd claimed for myself, and I kept close, worried that they'd wake up while I wasn't near. "Now, let's see…" A knock on the door made me pause and turn, confused. "Come in?"

"Sorry to bother, Dame Diana." Prince Marth stepped inside, smiling softly. "I just wanted to check in on them," he explained, looking to Jubelo and Yuliya. "I heard from Nyna that…"

"Near death, but they'll recover, in time." I sat on the edge of the cot, and fixed the blanket on them. They mumbled and whimpered in their sleep, but quickly calmed. They didn't have the energy for anything else. "How is everything? I had to miss the wrap up War Council meeting."

"Fine, mostly. We didn't find Falchion, but we got a lead on how to defeat Gharnef." He hesitated before smiling. "Linde privately told Princess Nyna, Duke Hardin, and me the real reason why she disappeared. We have opted to give her a minor punishment, since everything worked out. How is your back?"

"Bad, and will scar, but I'll heal fine. I only took a glancing blow and I've a high resistance to magic." I shuddered as I thought of what might've happened if I'd taken a direct hit. I might, _might_ , have survived a hit, but without a healer near, I have been dead soon after. "I have been informed that I'm not allowed to go on any more rescue missions. I have a bad habit of getting hurt."

"Duke Hardin has threatened to teach you proper defenses." He laughed and I smiled. "Alright, I won't trouble you further."

"It's no trouble, Prince Marth. But I'm sure Princess Caeda would appreciate your attentions more."

"Why does everyone…?!" His face went red, and I had to bite back my laugh. "Regardless, thank you!" With that rather squeaky goodbye, he more or less fled. And nearly bumped into a rather confused Minerva. "Sorry!"

"It's fine?" Minerva reassured. But he disappeared before she could ask more, so she shrugged and walked inside. "I hope I'm not bothering?"

"Not at all," I dismissed, smiling. "You here to check in on them too?"

"Partially. They… they're Maria's age…" Her eyes were dark and I knew she had thousands of 'what ifs' running through her head. 'What if' Maria had been taken by Nefy instead. "Maria, by the way, is looking forward to new friends. We're doing our best to warn her about overwhelming them, but you know how she is."

"She's a sweetheart. I'm sure she'll realize it soon."

"I hope so." She hesitated before pulling out two little dolls, a stuffed bear and a stuffed cat. "I thought they might like these. I found them in the market."

"I'm sure they'll love it." I took them from her and very carefully tucked them under the blankets with the twins. As I did, I heard her snicker, and turned, curious. "What is it?"

"I'm just thinking that you went from taking care of one princess to two more." She covered her mouth to muffle her laughter, and once I realized how true her words were, I couldn't help but laugh too. "Mother and murder. You can't escape."

"Well, we'll take steps with them to wean them off dependency a lot faster than Nyna and me. I'm sure they'll be better once they realize the rest of you only _look_ scary."

"Oh, I think Gharnef will find us quite scary once we get this Starlight spell and blast him with it." She crossed her arms, and grinned viciously. "That will be glorious." The grin soon softened, though, as Jubelo mumbled in his sleep and curled more into Yuliya's side. "When they're a little more steady, I'll have Palla and Catria take them flying. They're good with kids, and pegasi are protective."

"That sounds like a good way to distract them too." I could already imagine it. Maria would probably fly with Minerva too, just as extra reassurance. "Let's get them there."

"As fast as the healers allow." Minvera and I both shuddered at the thought of making the healers angry. "Anyway, I mostly just wanted to give them those. You staying in here?"

"Just while they sleep. I don't want them waking up without someone here, just in case."

"Probably good for now." She glanced at the door and smiled. "You've got another guest."

"Diana!" Linde poked her head in right on cue, holding a tray with three plates on it. "I brought food!" she declared, grinning proudly. Minerva laughed and scooted around her, likely to go have dinner with Maria. "Princess Nyna is on her way, as is Lena. Lena's got food for the two of them, but it'll keep, so there's no need to wake them. And Midia asked if she could come by for breakfast in the morning."

"Yes, that sounds fine," I replied, standing to clear a table. "So, have you been assigned as messenger?"

"Partially. Duke Hardin gave me some choices, and I decided to help you and Princess Nyna with your day to day things, especially since you're going to have your hands full with these two." She smiled warmly. "I mean; I have to do other stuff too, but yeah. Is that okay?"

"That sounds just perfect."

"Oh, good!" She set the tray down and jumped back. "Okay, I'll let Midia know, and then go make sure Princess Nyna and Lena didn't get waylaid."

"Alright." I laughed as she rushed off, and set the table, while keeping an eye on Jubelo and Yuliya. But they remained fast asleep, even after Nyna and Lena showed up and the three of us settled in for an enjoyable dinner.

The next few days were going to be absolutely insane. But, honestly, you couldn't pay me to have it any other way.

* * *

 _Notes on Maria:_

 _The youngest child of the Macedonian Royal Family, and the only one who is magically inclined_

 _According to Lena, she's got a lot of potential as a healer, but her youth works against her. However, her cheerfulness soothes even the grumpiest of the injured, and that alone is worth quite a bit._

 _Used as a hostage, but still loves her brother and sister dearly and has a bright smile for everyone._

 _Notes on Minerva:_

 _The middle child of the Macedonian Royal Family, who lead the armies for her brother, until her conscience won out over her honor._

 _A powerful combatant, who fights with both her axe and her wyvern. Brutal, but not painfully so, and always ready to repay everyone for saving Maria._

 _Looked up to her brother, but is determined to remain the course. Perhaps this has always been foretold, though, since she specializes in axes over her brother's lances, and axes have an advantage over lances._

* * *

Author's note: Jubelo and Yuliya (or Yubello and Yumina, and I honestly can't remember if I used the Japanese names prior; if so, sorry) are characters from FE3/12 and don't appear at all in FE1/11. They're the prince and princess of Grust, twins, who were taken hostage by Gharnef. It's stated in supplementary materials that Gharnef kept them in a 'dark room' in Khadein and frequently threatened to kill them. In-game-canon, Wendell is the one who saves them, and they're near death. I've… altered this slightly for future reasons. They'll still be close to Wendell, though. And speaking of characters from FE12, Arlen is another one, Merric's rival; his signature spell is, indeed, the Thoron spell.

Technically speaking, there's a scene with Gotoh, but that's not something Diana would see. It'll be referenced in the next chapter. The idea of Linde confronting Gharnef comes from the manga adaptation (and in said manga, Merric is the one who gets hurt protecting her). Gharnef does show up in this chapter, and is invincible due to Imhullu being a cheat device, I mean powerful spell that blocks all attacks. You're best bet is to send a pegasus knight (or Lena if you got lucky on her speed) to serve as a tank due to Gharnef being not that strong, but incredibly fast, and no one having resistance.

Also technically speaking, Elixirs don't exist in Shadow Dragon, but they _are_ available in New Mystery, through the 'Everyone's Conditions' thing, so I'm also adding them here (fun fact – Elixirs weren't introduced in the Fire Emblem series until FE6 apparently).

Next Chapter – Interlude, To Altea


	29. Interlude - To Altea

Interlude – To Altea

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _So, Khadein didn't yield what we wanted, but it was hard to call it a waste of time. Maybe because I've had to give examples for pretty boy, but… well, we liberated Khadein, adding their magical might to the army. We saved a few hostages, including Jubelo and Yuliya, who are adorable. We got a lot of supplies, including tomes and healing staves. And, perhaps most importantly, we actually know how to stop Gharnef, thanks to Gotoh somehow projecting himself and…_

 _Yeah, I saw it and I'm still confused. But, point is, we got a lot from it. We just didn't get what we wanted: Falchion. But while we did need to search also for these precious spheres or whatever… Altea is too close. We can't leave it again. Altea… home… we're finally…_

* * *

"You're lying!" I laughed, actually falling on my back as I cackled hard enough to make my stomach hurt. "There's no way!"

"In my defense, I didn't know that chemical was so explosive!" Merric defended, face red. But he was laughing too, barely sitting up straight. "And then I didn't want anyone to know it was my fault there was a hole in the wall, so…"

"So you just ran?" Linde asked. Her voice wobbled with her own laughter, and she shifted to tuck her legs a little better under her. "Seriously?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time!"

The three of us dissolved into more laughter, unable to do anything else. We were finally out of the damn desert, and technically speaking, we were in Altea. The cool wind and beautifully clean rivers led all of us to stop early for the day, and many jumped into said rivers for swimming and the like. I'd actually participated for a bit, but when I'd gotten out to dry off, Linde of all people snagged me and dragged me into a conversation with Merric. I'd panicked for a brief moment, but Linde launched into a ridiculous tale involving magical antics, and that prompted more, and more, and more, until we spent most of our time laughing because we barely had the breath to tell stories.

I managed to recover first, even if I was literally crying from laughing so hard, and I swung up to sit a little more properly. We were basically on the edge of the center, in a nice patch of cool green-green grass. It was a relief to be out of the desert, and I hoped dearly I wouldn't ever, _ever_ , have to deal with one again. I swore I still had sand stuck in my underwear. But a quick glance at the others in camp hinted I wasn't the only one relieved. The whole camp was filled with laughter and shrieks.

Winces caught my attention and I focused on them instantly, worried. But I softened when I realized the sources were Jubelo and Yuliya. Well, I softened when I realized Diana was near. The Grustian Twins were fidgety and scared of everything still, but there had been some progress. They actually were willing to leave Diana's tent, and even spend a few moments away from her. But, inevitably, they'd panic and rush back to her, clinging tightly, as they did now.

Diana didn't seem to mind, though. She was mending one of Linde's dresses, based on how pink the cloth was at least, and she easily adapted to the two. She let them lean against her, and she actually set the mending to the side and pulled out a bit of balm from somewhere to rub on their arms and hands. She worked slowly and gently, talking to them, and when she finished, she gave them tiny slices of fresh cheese. I knew it was, because yesterday, she'd asked for my help to find a mild cheese that the two could stomach. The two had a bad habit of gobbling all the food they could, likely because they'd spent so long without, and it had led to messes when their stomachs couldn't take it.

"Looks like they're doing okay," Merric commented. He and Linde had finally calmed down enough, though their faces were still blotchy from the laughter. "Looks like they're gaining some weight."

"They are!" Linde happily confirmed. It didn't surprise me that she knew. She helped out in the infirmary a lot nowadays, doing extra chores. I was one of the only people who knew it was because she'd been assigned that as punishment for rushing ahead; I'd been one of the ones who'd weighed in on her punishment, actually. Marth had asked for my opinion. "So slowly though…"

"Well, rapid weight gain would be bad for them too."

"Mmm, true." Linde looked over and smiled at them. The two had squirmed their way into Diana's lap, and she was laughing, hugging them. When they settled, Minerva came by to chat with the three. "I hope they feel safer soon, at least."

"They're healing," I pointed out. Just days ago, the sight of Minerva made them shake. Now, though, they smiled at her, even if they still held themselves stiffly. "And I think they spend time with Wendell?"

"Master Wendell is used to tending to scared children," Merric replied. His smile was sad now. "There's a few that come to Khadein terrified of their gifts. Not a lot, thankfully. But some."

"I guess the ability to conjure fire from squiggles on a page is frightening." I grinned as the other two laughed. I was far more relaxed than I thought they'd be around them. Perhaps I should've talked to them sooner. "Is he teaching them?"

"He is, actually. Both have a strong magic potential, though given their physical condition, it's entirely possibly…" Merric frowned. "Basically, their bodies are weak, and it's possible that they will never be able to reach their full potential because of it. They're still growing, after all, and they're dealing with so much."

"Well, given that no one has any significant resistance to magic, a little less power isn't going to bother much," Linde cheerfully pointed out. There was a flicker of pain in her eyes, but she smiled brightly, masking it. "Oh, but that reminds me. Nyna and Lena have been teaching me how to use healing staves."

"That's not a bad idea, actually," Merrick replied. His face lit up with a smile. "More healers can only be a boon, and the theories involved healing magic are fascinating."

"That's what I was thinking."

"Well, you two can enjoy that," I sighed. I smiled wryly as they both gave me a confused look. "I'm learning swords. I don't have the time to spare for a third weapon. Not yet, at least."

"Well, we can still show you the basics," Merric pointed out. He was back to smiling. "The three of us can coordinate and work on our own magical training schedule. That would free up Master Wendell to focus more on those two, and help wean them off their dependency to Diana."

"That… does sound interesting." I was surprised I said that. I never thought I'd do that. But both of them smiled, and I found myself smiling back. "Okay, let's try to figure out when the three of us have free time during a normal day."

The three of us… well, we did start it. But then someone started with another story and we were back to laughing far too hard. That was fine, though. That was fine. It was fun, and fun would be in short supply soon.

When Altea was free, we'd _really_ be marching hard to end the war. We had to seize what bits of leisure we could.

* * *

"And, there!" Cain landed a pretty hard blow to my side, enough to make me gasp and stumble, nearly dropping the blade. "That's-"

"I'm not done yet!" I snapped, swinging for his face. He blocked it with his arm, and then aimed the point of his practice sword at my throat. "Grr… not fair. You can't block with your arm."

"Yes, I can. I wear armor," Cain pointed out. He stepped back, and very easily disarmed me as well. "You, however, don't. That blow to your side would've crippled you more if it was blades."

"Lame." I glowered, but I softened when he smiled and headed for the side of the practice area, where we had towels and water already set up. We hadn't really wanted to spar this morning, while we were still in the desert, so we were making up for it now that it was evening and everyone was settling in for the night. "Ah, I love having fresh water available regularly. I never want to deal with a desert again!"

"And just think, you didn't have to try and lead a horse through it." He shuddered and I laughed. It was easy to laugh about it now. When we were actually there, though? It had been terrifying, especially for us Alteans.

The horses we had… the horses Cain, Abel, and Jagan rode… They were the same ones from Altea's fall. It would've been heartbreaking if those beasts, much as I disliked them, couldn't make it home too. We were so close. I would've hated it. I was glad they'd made it.

"Well, we more or less made it through," I pointed out, forcing cheerfulness. I was well aware that some of our number died, despite the healers' best efforts, thanks to the battle. I knew because Marth had been crying over it. He hated it so much. "So, we're heading home."

"We are," Cain replied. He passed me a towel and wiped the sweat off his face. "We're almost back."

"Yeah…" It felt so long ago. It felt like lifetimes ago. "But we won't get to enjoy it much, will we?"

"I imagine we'll rest for a short while, but we'd have to march on Gharnef and Medeus." Cain sighed, and looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, casting everything in a red-pink hue. His hair was redder than normal in this light. "A shame. I'd rather stay. But there's no way I could face the fallen if I did. Like Frey."

"We need to have a proper funeral for him." The thought hurt. So, I switched to another one. "There's no way we can leave our silly prince, either." I wouldn't want to. He needed a place to hide, especially since the battles would only get bigger from here. "We can liberate it, but it'll still be a while until we're home-home, huh?"

"Yeah." He glanced at me. "What will you do?"

"…I have no idea, actually." I patted my face with the towel, mostly to buy me time to think of an answer. "I haven't had a home since Grandfather passed. I just stayed wherever."

"Well, I imagine you'd be welcomed in the palace." He smiled warmly. "In fact, I think… most of us were kind of assuming you'd live there with us. It's hard to imagine life without you, you know."

"I suppose." My face prickled with heat. Blushing. I was blushing. "I also suppose I'll have to think on what I'll _do_ , even if I have free board." I grinned at him, hoping the fading light hid how red my face was becoming. "I have to make myself useful, after all."

"Considering this war, I think you'd earn a spoiled, restful life."

"Well, maybe I will, if you do as well." …That came out weird. "I mean; Jagan looks like he'll never retire!" That made it… little better. "Whatever. You know what I mean. You're going to keep being the proper knight, right?"

"Well, of course. Abel's debating retiring, though." Cain's expression fell at that. "He's as loyal as ever, but the constant battles are starting to wear on him. But Draug will stay. Jagan, Gordin, me… we'll all stay, likely."

"See? I need to keep up!" My grin widened. "After all, I still need to make you regret giving me these lessons."

"I maintain that I would never regret spending time with you." He paused. My face went redder. "There is no way to say that without…"

"Right, I know. It's fine." Still, I felt fidgety. Awkward. I had to fight to keep still. This just… felt weird. "Um…" I glanced to the side, an impulse suddenly filling me. And my impulse control was bad. "So, Cain?"

"Yes?"

"Um…" I leaned up and I kissed him on the cheek. "For luck, or something. You see it a lot."

And I bolted before he could react, because I wasn't quite sure what was going on. I mean; was it a crush? I've experienced crushes in the past. But this was a bit… warmer. Bigger. It was also a hell of a lot more awkward!

"Kris?" A voice startled me, and I skidded to a stop just before I completely passed Caeda. She looked at me curiously, and a quick look showed that I was in front of our tent and she had no guests. "Kris, is everything okay?" she asked, frowning slightly. She bent down to peer at me. "You're… quite red."

"Is it that noticeable?!" I squeaked. I pressed a hand to my face, and winced when I felt how warm it was. "Uh…"

"Do you have a fever?" She rested a hand on my forehead. "Mmm… maybe…? I'll go get-"

"I'm not sick!" I scowled, now just feeling unreasonably annoyed. "I'm just… um…"

"Well, if you're not sick, then you're horribly embarrassed. Or overheating. You were having an evening training session with…" She trailed off, eyes becoming thoughtful. And then she smirked. She smirked like a damn cat and she wrapped her arms around mine, tugging me inside her tent. "Sooooo, you're crushing on Cain?"

"Hell if I know!" But my face did go redder. "That's… um… okay, look, I've had crushes in the past, but this just feels bigger or…"

"You're in love~" She giggled and sat me down. "Oh, this is wonderful! Let's gossip!"

"You're getting me back for all the times I've teased you about Marth, aren't you?"

"Yep!" She grinned, unrepentant, and I groaned, finding a random pillow to just attempt to hide behind. "I'll make some tea!"

The worst part was that I knew I wouldn't be able to get away. So, I suffered through her teasing and advice, while plotting my own plan: just plain avoid Cain until I had time to hide better. I wasn't sure how much of a success it would be, but it was certainly preferable than dealing with the aftermath of me kissing him!

* * *

Author's note: Cheese is often recommended to help malnourished children regain essential nutrients, though of course, it can vary wildly depending on circumstances. Just a bit of a break given everything that happened last chapter.

Next Chapter – Battle for Altea (Fun fact, we're about fifteen chapters from the end, including Interludes, give or take)


	30. Chapter 14) Battle for Altea

Chapter 14) The Battle for Altea

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _Altea was known for being beautiful. It was blessed with fertile soil and clear waters, meaning it was relatively easy for people to live there. There were problems, of course. Arrogant idiots for knights, blindly loyal fools. Lack of proper orphanages and help for those in poverty. It wasn't perfect. But it had, at least, been beautiful._

 _But as we tread deeper into Altea, it's easy to see that the beauty had fled. Barren farms, ruined villages, forlorn stares of people who had given up… There was no beauty here. There was no hope. Medy had wanted Altea to suffer, and it did. It had broken. Now, it was up to us to recover the pieces._

 _Altea would be freed today. That was the promise all swore._

* * *

"Yuliya, don't fuss so much," I chided gently. She immediately made a face. "I know it's bothersome, but you were lightheaded earlier today, so I'd rather you don't push yourself."

"I'm sorry," Yuliya muttered. She continued to sulk, but did her best to hold still. "I should just be happy that I have clean clothes to change into."

"It's so hard to be grateful when you're told, constantly, how grateful you should be." I winked and she giggled, relaxing. "Now, then, let me get these buttons…"

It was strangely quiet this morning, but that was to be expected. We had set up on the outskirts of Altea's capital, preparing to lay siege on it. Scouts had been running around the past two days to set everything up. It was the calm before the storm, and here I was, helping Yuliya and Jubelo change their clothes because some kindly soldier accidentally gave them food too rich for them and they got sick.

"Jubelo, how is your stomach, sweetie?" I asked as I worked on Yuliya's buttons. I glanced over to where he was curled up on my cot, nibbling on some ginger root Abel had scavenged for the healers. "Is it better?"

"A little," he murmured. He smiled sweetly, and sleepily. He'd been up a lot last night due to nightmares, so that didn't surprise me. "How is your back, Diana?"

"It's fine." Mostly. Though my other injuries healed up well thanks to healing magic, the wound on my back, where I'd taken a glancing blow from Imhullu, actually _resisted_ healing magic, making it far, far less effective. Thankfully, between elixirs, vulneraries, and other herbal concoctions, it was healing very nicely. I just still did have the injury and I had to keep an eye on it. "It's sweet of you to ask, Jubelo."

"Master Wendell says that I'll be able to heal," Yuliya happily commented. Her eyes sparkled and I smiled, glad to see it. I'd been very hesitant at Wendell giving them lessons, mostly because I was worried they'd have a bad association with magic and mages thanks to Gharnef, but they blossomed under his gentle teachings. "When I learn, I'll be able to heal you!"

"And you are also sweet, Yuliya," I gently teased. She made a face, but smiled. She giggled when I leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I look forward to…" A gentle 'knock' on the front of my tent made me pause, and I glanced at it curiously. I wasn't expecting anyone. Nyna was talking with Marth, while Astram and Midia were cuddling a bit before battle. "Come in?"

"Sorry to bother." Minerva stepped inside and smiled softly. Yuliya and Jubelo smiled back, hesitant yet warm. She cut an intimidating figure, but they were quickly becoming friends with Maria. "I wanted to check in," she explained. "I was out scouting during the War Meeting."

"Oh, you want to know about where these two will go?" I asked. I almost sighed when she nodded. It had been quite the topic of debate the past few days. "They're going to be set up in a tent next to the infirmary, one with extra bandages and the like." I'd really wanted to leave him in a nearby village or fort for protection, but the two nearly had panic attacks when we tried something similar yesterday. "Do you have a suggestion?"

"There's a fort to the south that seems to be less guarded. Prince Marth remembered it because it's the fort where he briefly hid when Altea fell." Minerva crossed her arms and shifted all her weight to her left foot. "My thought was that I request we free it at once and move the infirmary within. Then these two won't necessarily have to be so close to the dead and dying."

"True." I finished buttoning Yuliya's dress and shifted so that I could look her and Jubelo in the eye. "Does that sound better to you? You won't necessarily be able to see me as easily, but you'll be within walls."

Yuliya and Jubelo looked at each other, silently conversing, before nodding. "We'd like to try it, at least," Yuliya said. She clasped her hands in front of her, almost hiding their shaking. "Being within walls sounds safer, at least, both for us and the injured."

"Well said," Minerva murmured. She leaned down and carefully ruffled Yuliya's hair. Yuliya giggled at the gesture, as she did with all gestures of affection. I wondered if it was because she rarely experienced them. "I'll leave to do that, then." She made a point to also ruffle Jubelo's hair before actually leaving, though. She was always careful to make sure she gave equal affection to both of them.

But when she left, I noticed that Jubelo's smile had faded. "What's wrong, Jubelo?" I asked. I picked up Yuliya and set her on the cot next to him. Her own smile had faded. "Come now. Talk to me."

"Gharnef isn't going to get us again, right?" Jubelo asked. He sat up slowly and he scooted closer to Yuliya. "We're fighting people. But Gharnef won't…"

"Never," I told him firmly. I knelt down and took their hands, still so small and thin. "He'll never hurt you two again. I promise."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"…Okay…" He smiled tentatively, like he didn't quite believe me, but wanted to. Yuliya didn't even do that much. "Can I have my toy?"

"Of course." I stood up again and plucked their stuffed bear and cat from where I'd washed them. They were still a bit damp, but they were dry enough. "Here you go." I smiled as both took them quickly. "Now then…"

"Diana?" Hardin walked in then, but paused as the twins both squeaked and tried to duck behind me. "I need to remember they don't take sudden intrusions well," he sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, you two."

"You also keep forgetting that you're quite intimidating, Hardin," I gently teased. I turned away and worked on calming Jubelo and Yuliya down again. Luckily, it didn't take long. "Did you need something?"

"I was letting you know that Minerva got her permission, and went on ahead. The fort is close enough to the expected battles that the injured can be carried easily, but far enough away that they shouldn't notice immediately that it's been taken." Harden passed Jubelo and Yuliya pieces of cheese and, after a moment, they took it from him to nibble. "They look well."

"They're recovering." I stepped away from them then, and it didn't escape me that their eyes instantly followed me before they slowly relaxed. "I fear it will take years."

"It will. I remember helping Wolf and Sedgar recover. In many ways, I can still see the scars." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "And how are you doing, Diana?"

"I'm… doing." I smiled slightly and shrugged. "I'm here. I'm alive. I'm healing."

"You're not too tired?" He opened his eyes again to study my face. "You've been running around taking care of them, on top of your other duties."

"Linde assists me often, and honestly, taking care of them is more of a pleasure than a chore." I laughed softly, glancing over at them again. They were still just nibbling on their cheese, nudging each other shyly and playing with their toys. "But how are you? Are you not too tired?"

"No, I still hold onto my health, thankfully." He smiled slightly. "When things are calmer, though, there is something I wish to talk about."

"Certainly." A shout caught my attention, and I poked my head out of the tent to see the soldiers scrambling for final preparations. "It's time."

"It is." Hardin pushed aside the flap, eyes narrowed. "May luck be with us."

"May it, indeed."

* * *

Minerva got the fort with ease, and we'd just managed to set up the infirmary before the wounded came. Thanks to the fort, I didn't actually need to 'guard' so much as do triage and help direct victims. Unfortunately, though, it wasn't just soldiers coming in. Our enemy had no qualms in running down civilians to get to ours sooner and, worse, we actually had some… well, the new 'ruler' of Altea had encouraged violence against Alteans. We had quite a few who managed to survive and they came to us for aid.

"Ah, there's so much going on," I murmured, leaning briefly against the wall. I was almost stiff from the amount of blood covering me. I'd have to find a way to wash the worst off before I visited Yuliya, Jubelo, and Maria again. "Okay, break over." Sighing, I pushed myself off the wall and tried to take a step. But then I slipped on excess blood and nearly fell on my face.

I only didn't because someone caught me. "Easy, you must be exhausted." The someone helped me up and I looked up to see it was Jeorge, of all people. "That said, there is a lot of blood around," he murmured, frowning at the puddles on the floor. "The hell happened here?"

"Someone was carrying an injured soldier, but didn't secure the broken leg, so the tibia snapped and ruptured an artery. I think." I rattled it of automatically, looking away in a sudden and horribly pathetic bit of embarrassment. This was the first time we'd interacted since… "I'd been meeting them, so we struggled to get a tourniquet on the leg here."

"Did they make it?"

"No, they didn't. It hit one of those big arteries." They'd bled out before I could even make it over. "It took a while to convince their friend of it, though."

"I see." His hands lingered on my shoulders. "Where are the little ones?"

"Yuliya and Jubelo? They're helping Maria, actually. We're giving them to less injured ones to tend to, to free up space where Nyna, Lena, and Wrys are working."

"Poor Wrys. I always forget about him."

"To be fair, he's quiet." I often forgot about him too, and I was often at the infirmary. Nyna, Lena, and Maria talked to me far more readily. "So, what brings you inside?" I looked up curiously, frowning as I caught sight of a bandage around his throat. "You're injured."

"Not badly. This was actually tended to in the field by Astram." He reached up to touch the bandage. "Draug nearly got electrocuted thanks to a mage, though. Prince Marth ordered him inside to get checked over, so Gordin asked if I'd help."

"I see." I hadn't seen any of them come in. "Well, um…"

"When things are calm, I'd like to continue that talk." His voice was soft and he smiled slightly as he looked at me. "If that is all right?"

"Yeah, sure, that's fine." Truthfully, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear, but I didn't want to run away again.

"Good." His smile grew. "Good."

"Oh, sorry!" The voice made both of us turn, and I frowned when I saw it was Nyna, a blood splattered Nyna with her hair falling slightly out of her bun. But there was something off about her. "I didn't mean to interrupt," she continued lightly, smiling slightly. But there was more cheer to the smile than I was used to. "There was a prisoner in the dungeons though, Diana." Her posture was not as refined. Her demeanor was not as tired or sad. "Can you go check on him?"

I studied her for a long while, noting those differences, and then noticing something else in particular. "…Who are you?" I whispered instead. 'Nyna's' face frowned for confusion, but even that frown was off. "First of all, Nyna wouldn't leave the infirmary just to tell me that. Second of all, Nyna would be far more exhausted from healing people. _Third_ of all…" My eyes fell to her hands, and I noticed something else, _far_ more telling. "Third of all, Nyna wouldn't have blood on her hands. She cleans them frequently because mixing blood can be very bad."

"Not to mention that Princess Nyna wouldn't ask _Diana_ to check on the prisoner," Jeorge added. His eyes narrowed and he shifted, getting a hand over his quiver. "Diana has a bad habit of getting injured when sent off on missions, and that can't be afforded with something like this."

"True. I've actually been forbidden to do things like that." My own hand dropped to the hilt of my sword. "So, I ask again. Who the hell are you?"

"Wow, you two are good," 'Nyna' laughed. Her form shimmered briefly before revealing a pink-haired man with a feather tucked behind his ear. "Interesting, interesting. You two are-WHOA!" He ducked under the arrow Jeorge shot and then squeaked as I got a sword at his throat. "Ahaha… ha… this isn't a very friendly greeting, you know."

"You have three seconds to reassure me that Nyna is well," I informed him, smiling icily. Behind me, Jeorge drew another arrow. "Maybe less for him."

"She's fine; she's fine! My name is Xane, I can shapeshift into people I've seen, and I made the mistake of thinking this would be a good prank!" He smiled nervously, but there was a calculating glint to his eye. I didn't think he was lying, but he _also_ wasn't as helpless as he was pretending. "So, if we can just…"

"Jeorge, go ahead and join the others." I stepped back, eyes and blade never leaving Xane. "I don't think he's lying, for now."

"…All right," Jeorge murmured. He eyed Xane warily, but nodded. "I'll return to the battle. Stay safe."

"And you," I murmured. I kept my attention firmly on Xane, barely hearing Jeorge walk away. "Now, then. I'm going to remove the blade and you and I will have a lovely conversation. But if any of the healers or children are harmed, I will chase you all the way to hell to kill you."

"I can't tell if you're a psycho or a mother," Xane muttered. He squeaked as I moved the blade closer. "Okay, okay! They're fine! Or were fine when I left!"

"Good." I brought my sword to my side, watching as he checked his neck for nicks. "Now. What were you doing?"

"I was freed, and I went to pay my respects, and this Nyna girl said 'find Diana and let her know', and so I was like 'sure' and decided to play a little prank!" He groaned, smoothing down his vest. "Which, apparently, was a _really_ bad idea."

"Apparently so." I stepped back to give him a little more room. "So, why were you imprisoned?"

"Well, these Dolhr lovelies were very insistent of me wasting my considerable talents with them!" Xane shrugged and rested his arms behind his head. "I told them to screw themselves; the mage dragon in charge decided I'd 'face my doom' and threw me in here."

"If you don't wish to fight, why did you not simply flee when you were freed?"

"I want to meet Prince Marth, the supposed savior of the world." He flashed a smile, but it was worn and tired. "Humans are such fools, but I can't help but watch the madness unfold."

"…You…" I frowned, noticing the phrase. "Are you a manakete?"

"Nope! Not anymore, anyway. I've no idea what I am, anymore." He shrugged and leaned casually against the wall. Now I could see how old his eyes were. "I'm not as old as Bantu and Gotoh. But I'm quite old, yet things always remain the same. Humans are idiots."

"So, why do you want to see Prince Marth?"

"As I said, I can't help but watch the madness unfold. It's a strange fascination, like watching a building collapse in front of you." He laughed, but it sounded fake. "And, well, every once in a while, I get to see a human who surprises me. Not many can see through my disguises so quickly."

"Are you currently a friend or foe?"

"I'm looking at a girl who has made it clear, multiple times, that she will kill me." He gave me a droll look, and I had to fight off a squirm. It was an idiotic question. "I'm not stupid enough to announce 'foe'. That said…" He smiled slightly. "That said, while I sympathize with Medeus, my loyalty is, as normal, to Gotoh, and he's helping you lot. So, here I am. Came a bit early, though."

"…I see." I studied him for a long moment before sighing and sheathing my sword outright. "This way, please. Do you happen to copy people's abilities?"

"I can." He looked confused. "So, I just say that I'm loyal and you'll believe me?"

"You just admitted that you can take the abilities of people you've seen. You've clearly seen Medy, or Gotoh. You have seen soldiers and clearly you can change your clothes. If you wanted to kill us, you would've just done it." I glared at him, though. " _If_ you abuse this trust, I will find a way to slaughter you, and I will find a way to make it as painful as possible. But I'm learning how to trust people. I might as well take the leap of faith. Nyna would want me to."

"…For the record, I can't actually copy manaketes." He started laughing, shaking his head. "Humans are such fools. But that's why Gotoh loves you lot, even when he tries to wash his hands of you."

"I'll simply take your word for it. Now, as I said, this way." I gestured down the hall. "You can help the healers. Please keep pranks to a minimum."

"As long as things are serious. I make no promises when things aren't."

"Very well. But if you try them on me, you will find the business end of my blade in a very uncomfortable spot."

"Noted!"

* * *

After dropping off Xane with the healers, I continued with my duties of helping the injured in and fighting off the few soldiers that decided to try to retake the fort. There weren't many, truthfully; the enemy had their hands full dealing with the bulk of the army. So, I spent my time mostly on the roof of the fort, helping the fliers ferry people within, and chatting with Minerva.

"So, there's almost a path to the castle?" I asked, not sure if I felt relieved or not. I simply leaned against the ramparts, watching the chaotic battle below. "Will there be a strike group like last time?"

"Well, last time, it was mostly to try and stop an execution," Minerva gently reminded. She actually sat on the ramparts, giving her wyvern a bit of a break. It rested behind us, breath still a bit ragged. "But likely, we'll do the same. The soldiers out here won't stop fighting simply because we secured the gates, after all."

"True." I couldn't help but smile bitterly, noting how distant the fighting felt. I normally stayed away from the thick of the fighting anyway, but up here, everything felt so strangely calm. "Well, I'm definitely remaining here. Last time I infiltrated a castle, I nearly died and broke my ankle."

"You also killed a dragon."

"With help, if you'll recall." I laughed, and she joined in after a moment. "We're so incredibly insane."

"We are." She laughed a little harder. "We're lowly humans fighting dragons and immortal sorcerers, on the way to find legendary weapons to actually kill them. It's like a story."

"It very much is." I let my laughter fade as I saw a particularly brutal thunder-spear crush through the enemy lines. Kris's Thoron. It was followed quickly by Merric's Excalibur and Linde's Aura. "They're at the doors, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but they still have to break through." She swung around and hopped down onto the roof, resting her hand on her wyvern. "I should probably head back."

"Probably." I needed to head back inside as well. I'd only come up here for a quick break. "Well, have fun conquering the castle and…" I trailed off, a horrified thought occurring to me. There was something Xane had said, and I stupidly let it pass, but now… "Minerva, wait here a moment."

"Sure?" She frowned, tilting her head slightly. "Why?"

"Just… wait here a moment, because I think there's a dragon inside the castle."

"We took that possibility in account, remember?"

"Yes, but…" I shook my head. "Just stay here for me to confirm something." And I took off, taking the stairs four at a time as I raced through the floors and halls, heading for the room with the 'less injured'.

I got lucky. Xane wasn't busy and actually near the door, so I could snatch his arm quickly and drag him down the hall.

"Hey, hey, hold on!" he yelped, trying to dig his heels. Despite him being taller, I actually had a strength advantage on him, and the advantage of him being bent awkwardly due to my dragging. "I've been behaving, damn it!"

"Not why I'm dragging you," I explained, turning a corner. "I just wanted to keep away from those who might panic." I turned to face him, tightening my grip on his arm. "Earlier, you mentioned a 'mage dragon'."

"Yes, I did?" He frowned. "You didn't react."

"I was distracted. Now I'm not." I scowled, but my frustration was mostly at myself. "They're almost inside. What is the difference between a 'mage dragon' and the dragon we killed in Archanea? Anything?"

"Oh, likely a lot of things. Mage dragons are rarer, so Medeus keeps them close. One is here because that's how much Medeus hates Altea." Xane glanced up at the ceiling, free hand sketching out thoughts. "What was the dragon you fought in Archanea like?"

"Arrogant, large, breathed fire?"

"Fire dragon then, like Bantu." He looked down at me again. "Mage dragons, though? Their breaths are pure magic, and they are also incredibly _resistant_ to magic. Doesn't matter what spells you use. It will bounce off their scales."

"So, it's effectively immune to magic." I bit my lip. "Thank you. I'm sorry for dragging you. But they're literally…"

"Certainly." Xane sighed. "Sadly, this is actually a reason why Gotoh wanted me with you guys. He didn't know if Bantu were with you lot, or if you'd bother him."

"Clearly, we should've." But Bantu had taken so much damage in Archanea that we simply let him be, forgetting he was more than a kindly old man. "Thank you."

I left him then, returning to the roof with Minerva. I quickly told her what I knew, and she'd taken off to get that knowledge to Prince Marth as soon as possible. I watched her leave, and I remained above, watching the waters turn red-pink-yellow from all the injuries. Watching the corpses of soldiers, horses, and pegasi bob awkwardly in the waters. Watching the churned and bloody mud slowly coat the shattered armor and broken weapons of even more dead.

"Diana." Nyna appeared next to me, and this time, I knew it was her. She was far too tired and sad to be Xane. "Lena is making me take a break," she murmured, brushing back some strands that clung to her sweaty face. Her hands, of course, were clean. "They're almost inside."

"Yeah, they are," I confirmed, turning my attention back to the battlefield. Two ballistae bolts flew over the soldiers' heads and a loud crunching-crack told me that they'd destroyed the front gates. "Should we send some healers down for a secondary infirmary?"

"I'll ask Lena, but honestly, there are so many wounded that I don't think we can spare any." She smiled bitterly. "We simply must choose between whether we write these out to die to maybe save those still fighting, or risk those still fighting to maybe save those we have."

"Quite the choice."

"Isn't it?" She glanced at me before looking up at the sky. It was a strangely cloudless day, with the sun all-but-sparkling. "Do you think, if I pray, the gods will finally hear me?"

"I don't know, Nyna." I looked up as well before turning my attention back to the field. "But hey, you're on break. What can it hurt?"

Maybe we all needed to pray for this to work. Everything would ride on this next battle.

* * *

 _Notes on Linde:_

 _Daughter of Pontifex Miloah, wielder of the powerful Aura spell, a kind girl at heart who desperately wants to be useful._

 _A powerful magic user, and her power is only increased thanks to Aura, and she's quite speedy as well. However, because she doesn't wear armor and doesn't have a lot of stamina, she always has to have a guard on the field._

 _While outwardly confident, she does hold some insecurities and every once in a while, you're reminded that she's only fifteen. She struggles to maintain maturity, though._

 _Notes on Jake:_

 _A ballistician Caeda recruited while fighting in Archanea, he joined because his girlfriend, Anna, requested it._

 _Though ballista are very situational, he's capable of holding his own. He's particularly useful for dealing with flying units and destroying walls._

 _Not very military minded, and seems to have a keen eye for finding hidden shops in a market._

* * *

Author's notes: Xane is very interesting as he's the only character in the entire series who can copy another unit's abilities. It's revealed in FE3/12 that he's actually a former divine dragon who lost his ability to transform, and that he's old enough to remember how humanity treated the manaketes. He also mentions a few times in those games that while he likes Marth, he's not fond of humanity as a whole, though there's some implication that he's actually just keeping his distance because humans are gone too soon. He is also a very noted prankster, but it's not the sort of prank Diana would take kindly to. Her and Jeorge seeing through his disguise pretty quickly is mostly based on how Xane doesn't actually know Nyna that well, so it's not a 'perfect' imitation.

As for the fort Xane is in being the same from the prologue? I looked at the maps and happened to notice the similarity between them.

Next Chapter – Star and Savior


	31. Chapter 15) Star and Savior

Chapter 15) Star and Savior

* * *

 _We breached the main castle gates. It's been a long battle and, unfortunately, it's just going to keep on going. We're tired, but eager. This is Altea castle. This is something we need to recapture. This is what I had been fighting for, for two years. It was here. It was actually here._

 _That made no sense. My thoughts were so chaotic right now. I couldn't believe we made it. We actually did make it back._

* * *

Something was going to go wrong. Something was going to go very wrong, very fast. I knew that because everything had gone far too well during the battle. We even picked up a few new members! I had no idea what their names were, or where they were, but we had them. So, I was certain something was going to go very wrong, very fast. But if my companions had the same worries, they didn't show it on their faces. Instead, they ran and fought with grim determination.

As we got closer to the inner walls, though, we hit a bit of a hiccup. It wasn't 'wrong', since we'd anticipated guards for the inner gates. But there were more than we guessed. There were far more, actually.

"They must've taken some from other locations to reinforce here," Marth whispered as we peered around a corner of some statue. There was already fighting, of course, but Marth and I had lingered back. "We'll have to switch to plan B then."

"I think we're on plan C, pretty boy," I retorted. Still, I didn't mind. "Right, I'll take lead. I remember the ways inside. We'll split into groups."

"With someone taking command here, to continue serving as bait." Marth raised his hand and Cain appeared at his side. I tried to ignore him, pretending to be thinking about something. "Cain, can you hold here?"

"Of course, my prince," Cain replied. He didn't so much as glance at me as he bowed. Part of me felt irritated about that. "You will head inside, then?"

"Yes, tell the others to enter through the paths Kris explained earlier," Marth ordered. He smiled kindly. "Kris and I will go a different way, and head straight for the throne room."

"Well, not straight-straight," I half-protested. I looked out at… something instead of them. "We'll likely hide to give time for you all to lure more people from the throne room."

"Yes, that." Marth looked between Cain and me in slight confusion before shrugging. "We'll be leaving. Stay alive, Cain."

"Stay safe, you two." Cain left then, just before I realized he'd included me in that sentence. But there was no time, really, to… do much of anything besides the plan.

Battles really did move far, far too fast sometimes.

Marth and I darted around the battlefield, taking advantage of the shadows to pass mostly undetected. One or two caught us, but they didn't get to live to blab about it. As we ran, I found familiar landmarks, and could almost smile. They looked different in the daylight, but I knew this path. I knew this area. I could've laughed as we came under a window I knew very, very well.

"So, silly prince," I began. I couldn't suppress my grin as I looked at him. "You good at climbing?"

"Considering everything, I think I can be a fast study," Marth instantly replied. His own smile hinted he knew why I'd asked. "You'll definitely have to go first, though. I still don't know how you managed to climb this."

"Just do as I do." It had been a while since I had to actually sneak into a place, but as I began my climb, I found the old instincts hadn't died. It was easy and some part of me wanted to just scramble up like I used to, but I went slow until I got to the window ledge and pulled myself inside. When I turned and looked down, I saw him eyeing the wall dubiously. "Well, come on."

"I said it back then, and I'll say it again. You have high hopes for my flexibility." Still, Marth sighed and carefully began following my path. He slipped a couple of times, but he managed to catch himself and keep on going.

When he was close enough, I gave him my hand, and helped pull him inside. "You're still slower than a legless turtle."

"I made it this time!" Marth grinned, using his cape to wipe the sweat off. "Okay, where to… oh, Caeda!" Marth leaned out the window slightly as Caeda flew near. "I thought you were staying outside?"

"I am," Caeda replied. She frowned slightly, and I knew she wanted to come with us. But a pegasus was best suited for outdoor combat. "I was helping Minerva find you. She has a message from Diana, but I don't know what. Something that they learned from a prisoner about the palace?"

"In that case, see that Cain or Abel learns," Marth replied. I almost asked about Jagan, but then remembered that Jagan was actually staying outside to help Hardin with securing the lands around the castle. "Whatever it is, they're more likely to hit it than us."

"I'll let her know." Caeda hesitated before reaching over and taking Marth's hands. "Be careful, Marth. Come back to me, okay?"

"Always." Marth smiled sweetly at her. "We'll be just fine."

"Okay." She smiled back and let her hands linger on his for a moment before taking off. Marth watched her leave, eyes filled with wonder.

I let him for longer than I probably should have before teasing. "That was so sappy," I joked. Marth instantly yelped. "I might stick to the wall from it."

"That doesn't make sense!" he snapped. I chuckled, covering my mouth to muffle the sound. "J-just get moving!"

"From this point, it's you pick where we're hiding for a short while, remember?"

"Oh, right." He coughed awkwardly, face turning beet red. "Well, we could try my room. It's not far from the throne room, truthfully."

"Let's go."

It was almost surprising how easily Marth and I made it to his room, considering everything. But, then again, this was his home. We actually went through a couple of secret passages to avoid some patrolling guards. So, we made it to his room fairly easily, and ducked inside, closing the door behind us.

The inside was dusty as all hell. The bed was only half-made, like someone had been sleeping in it, but had decided to get up. A book was on the desk, with a paper and pen next to it. A couple of shirts were thrown in the corner, though most were hung up neatly, but most had been chewed on, likely by rats or moths. Stubby, half-melted candles were scattered across the floor, knocked over by something. The window looking out over an overgrown garden was grimy.

"Wow, no one has been in here since then," Marth murmured. He carefully walked around, each step kicking up more dust. "And the garden…" He went to the window and scratched at the grime until he could actually see out. I winced when I noticed how many plants were dead. "Mother must not have been here since then. She never would've let the garden end up like that."

"Your mother, huh?" I asked. I leaned against the door, and coughed as I managed to stir up even more dust. "You haven't mentioned her a lot."

"I've been afraid to." He didn't look at me. He continued to stare out the window. "I know what happened to my father. There's rumors all over the place on Elice. I've heard nothing of Mother, though. I didn't even really get to see her, before I left."

"When did you?"

"Dinner. I happily told her about my day, she laughed, and wished me a good night. It was normal. Everything had been normal, until…" He sighed, wilting. "Well, I'm home. Yet, there is still no sign of her."

"No, there isn't." I didn't know what else to say. I didn't know much about the queen. Honesty, all I'd really known was that she'd been a quiet woman. "I'm going to listen until things quiet."

"I'll… look around here, I suppose." He twisted to give me a bitter smile. "I suppose I should be grateful that some of my old life remains."

There was really no replying to that, so I just crouched down and set myself up to listen. There wasn't anything else to do.

* * *

I waited as long as possible, to give Marth a chance to calm down. But eventually, I knew we had to move again, and so, we traveled down the hallways, straight for the throne room. We met other soldiers there, including Merric and Linde. Marth went to get reports; I went to check on them.

"You're both pale," I commented, frowning at them. They were also sweaty, and I used my cloak to try and get the worst off. "Linde, you want my cloak?"

"I'm already horribly sticky," she retorted. She glowered a little, but grimaced as she picked at her dress. "It's like being back at the desert."

"Including your dress clinging, which you don't seem to like normally."

"Huh? Oh." She whimpered and held her arms out. "I'm sorry. Please?"

"Here we go." I got my cloak around her, and smiled at Merric. "You didn't offer yours?"

"No offense, but I am so tired that I didn't even notice," Merric instantly replied. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "But this is the last push, right?"

"Yes, it is," I confirmed. I studied them both, and tugged them towards me so that they could lean. "I know the half-thought plan was you two destroying the doors, but if you want me to take over…"

"No, no, Linde and I have been pacing ourselves. We've still got one or two big spells left." Merric glanced over at Linde, who nodded. "We'll be fine. Once we're done here, Altea will have been liberated. The last of the conquered countries will be freed, and we can grind away at the empire itself."

"Plus, we can deal with Gharnef," Linde added. Her eyes hardened at the name. "A bit more, and we can take the fight to them."

"Well, we want you to _survive_ that 'bit more'," I grumbled. I shifted so that I could hold them up a little better. "One more, and then you two fall back with lighter stuff. Don't worry about Marth; he'd be horrified if you pushed yourselves."

"But…!"

"She's right, Linde, and I'd rather not get a scolding from Master Wendell," Merric reluctantly agreed. He smiled, though. "Will we be under guard?"

"Of course," I replied. I looked around, frowning as I realized I didn't know a lot of these people. "Where the hell is Draug?"

"He got hit with a powerful thunder spell earlier, and I think he was put to defend the infirmary afterwards."

"Gordin is outside with Norne…" The archers were giving covering fire to lessen the chances of us getting struck from behind. "There's Abel, though." But there was no Cain. He must still be in the courtyard. "Abel, over here!"

"Everything okay?" Abel asked as he wove his way through. More and more people were gathering, and Marth was dealing with more and more reports. The throne room was isolated. "They're leaning."

"I want them under guard after they blow up the throne room," I explained. Both snickered in response. "I'm assuming that it's going to be blown up, at least. Remind me why we decided to throw Excalibur _and_ Aura at it?"

"The doors are made to endure battering rams, just like the outer gates."

"Well, here's hoping Marth doesn't mind fixing the interior, and throne." I frowned as Marth caught my eye and nodded. "We're ready. Are you two?"

"We are," Linde confirmed. She shared a tired, but determined, look with Merric. "We'll start prepping."

"You two show me where to stand first," Abel requested. He passed his lance to his other hand, tensing. "I want to be able to guard you two as soon as possible."

"Um… I think over here. Merric?" Linde led the other two off, and I went to stand with Marth, one hand dropping to my pack where I had Thoron and the other pulling out my sword.

Marth gave me a wan smile, and the soldiers around us all shifted into 'ready' stances, prepared to dash through the walls. The air hummed as Merric and Linde concentrated, bits of wind and light dancing around us. I held my breath, watching the two of them closely. As their magic pulsed and glowed around them, I could see how pale they were. Sweat poured down their faces, and Linde actually began to sway. But the magic started to solidify in front of them, so I knew they just had to hold on for one more moment and…

"Wait!" Someone's desperate shout made me jump. "Don't use magic! _Don't use magic_!"

The words, however, came 'too late'. I was still turning to see who shouted when Merric and Linde unleashed their spells, sending the magic crashing into the doors. It actually went through the doors, as the supposedly strong doors didn't even hold up for a blink under the assault. We had to cover our ears when the walls of the room cracked and trembled. No few soldiers threw their shields up to protect us from splinters and shrapnel. A couple pieces of ripped tapestry floated above, dragged out of the room by the backlash of Excalibur.

Smoke and dust filled the air and we coughed and coughed, our eyes tearing up. I looked up to see Abel supporting Merric and Linde, and then looked to see just who had yelled. I was surprised to see it was Cain, red streaming down the side of his face and armor cracked. I was even more surprised to see him still running, little chips of his armor falling off in his wake.

"Get back! Get back!" Cain snapped. He snagged Merric and Linde by the collars and dragged them to the side. "Princess Minvera's message was information on the dragon here!" He snatched Abel's arm and yanked him back too. "It's immune to magic!"

I almost asked what the hell he meant. But then there was a low rumble and a wave of purple light suddenly erupted from the mangled doorway. It incinerated the dust in an instance, sucked the air out of our lungs. I gasped, choking, and struggled to keep my footing as a shockwave punched me in the chest. The people closest to the door were… well, the ones absolutely closest weren't much of anything but ash. Those unlucky enough to be close, but not too close, were bleeding profusely from where parts of them had been seared off. Some fell, dead instantly because half of their body had just disappeared. Others had time to scream and cry before they did, because while they died quickly, it was not _instantaneous_.

Then the ground trembled and we all looked inside the ruined throne room. Shredded rags and broken rubble littered the cracked floor, but that barely held my attention. Instead, it was the large draconic form, lither than the other dragons and colored purple-grey, that loomed over us. Despite the destruction in the room, there wasn't a single wound on it. Despite no doubt being hit, directly, by Excalibur and Aura, the most powerful spells of all humans, wielded by powerful mages who took the time to ensure it was as strong as they could cast… there wasn't a single scratch. It didn't even look tired.

 _"Witless humans…"_ A deep, mocking voice echoed through my head. _"None defy a mage dragon and live to tell about it_." Then it breathed its magic-fire-breath-whatever on us again.

We shrieked and dodged, and I rolled to the side, just barely avoiding the blast. The shockwave knocked me off my balance, though, so I ended up rolling straight into the wall. I tugged Thoron out of my pack when I saw the dragon, the mage dragon, bearing down on some screaming soldiers, but it did nothing. The thunder spear crashed into its side, but it didn't even react. It just leaned down and snapped up a soldier in its jaws. Half of them fell shortly afterwards, blood seeping down.

"Cain!" Marth yelled. I looked around wildly and saw him not far from me. His arm was scraped up, and his clothes were ripped, but otherwise, he looked fine. "Cain, what was the message?"

"I think the exact message was 'magic bounces off the scales'!" Cain shouted back. I couldn't even see him thanks to the dragon. I had no idea who was hurt and who wasn't. It seemed like there was blood everywhere, seeping into the cracks in the stone. "I'm not sure! She talked in a hurry when she learned we were already deep inside the castle. I don't even know _how_ she knows yet!"

"Then we go after them in blades! Cain, Abel, guard Merric and Linde!" Marth led the charge. I tucked my Thoron tome back in my pack and followed him. "We killed one dragon! We can kill another!"

 _"You can try, human prince."_ The voice echoed through again, and the dragon turned its head our way. _"But you will fail, as the others have."_

Marth didn't even bother to reply. He just lunged for the dragon, and managed to actually slip his rapier into a soft spot at a joint. It seemed like enough of an answer. Of course, the dragon's response was to nearly snap his head off, so I wasn't sure how effective of an answer it was.

But then there wasn't time to think about that. It took all my focus to _not die_. Forget about damaging the dragon, because the dragon was killing soldiers with ease. It wasn't even relying on the breath attack a third time. While we desperately tried to fight back, managing to draw some blood at the joints, it just casually clawed and bit people to death. It even moved slowly! It was _playing_ with us! It could kill us, but it decided to show us, exactly, how outmatched we were.

I tried to reassure myself by remembering that we had killed a dragon before. But that knowledge fell flat when I remembered all those who'd previously fought a dragon simply weren't here, and _that_ group had a healer. We didn't. All of the healers were outside, because the battle had been just brutal enough to keep them bogged down. We could send, but there was no way it would be fast enough.

A fire spell flew and I wondered if it was Merric or Linde who threw it. I barely saw it as I rolled under a claw and had to quickly scramble up to avoid being stepped on. But I did see something very interesting. The fireball hit the thin skin of the wing and the dragon immediately retracted the wing, and that was weird as all hell, because it was the first time it had reacted, really, to _any_ hit. As the wing stretched out again, I saw it moved slowly and there was actually a faint burn mark.

I wondered why, but then I thought of what Cain had said. A very crazy thought wormed its way into my head. It was a very crazy, very insane, would-probably-get-me-killed though, but it would not let me be. It simply wouldn't leave me alone.

"Lady Kris!" I whirled at the voice, just in time to get shoved back. I slid in blood, nearly fell, but when I looked back, I saw nothing but the dragon's claw, and a bloody arm sticking out between the claws. I went cold when I realized just what happened. A soldier died for me. A soldier, someone I didn't know, probably could've never recognized… they died getting me out of the way. They died… for me…

With a shaking hand, I reached into my pack and tore out a page from Thoron, carefully folding it into my hand. My hand buzzed from the power sleeping in it, and I had to take a deep breath to steady my nerves. If I was wrong… well, if I was wrong, I was going to die. But, we were already dying, and there was one other thing I remembered. That other group had only killed the dragon by gambling and doing some out of the box thinking. They took advantage of the dragon's arrogance, and did something it never expected. If I did the same, we could do this. I was certain of it.

I began fighting again, but this time, I was weaker. I was looking for an opening, some way I could test my theory. But, unfortunately, I couldn't find one. The dragon was careful to keep its wings tight against it, careful to not bend down, except to bite, and it was always so damn quick. I'd try to get the spell off but I wouldn't even be halfway through invoking the spell before it was out of range again, more limbs and blood dripping down.

"Kris, watch your footing!" I wasn't quite sure who shouted that. I thought it might've been Abel, but it could've been someone else. All I knew, really, was that at that exact moment, I slipped in some blood, and the dragon's maw loomed in my vision.

In desperation, I lashed out with my sword, wincing as I felt the teeth pierce my arm. But it didn't quite close down, and I wondered why until I realized what it was. I'd managed to wedge my sword between its upper and lower jaw, and at first, I couldn't believe it wasn't just snapping it down. Then I realized the pointy end was actually under some of the teeth, and that bought me a precious few seconds.

Ignoring the pain ricocheting up my arm, I thrust my other hand inside the dragon's mouth, wincing at how horrific its breath smelled. Blood and rot nearly made me vomit, but I managed to focus long enough to call upon the power of Thoron. "Let's see if this works…" I hissed. Lightning crackled and burned my palm, but the pain didn't matter. I was already in a lot of pain, so what was a little more? "Please work…!"

A Thoron bolt shot from my hand, straight down its gullet. I could see the blood and burns it left behind, and that, and the choked roar of pain, still loud enough to make my ears ring, told me I was right. Magic bounced off the scales, but that was it. It was still vulnerable where there were no scales, like its wings and insides, and if there was one thing I knew, it was that thunder magic and water made for very dead things.

Of course, this was a dragon, and it still had enough life in it to throw me up in the air in protest. I hissed and nearly blacked out as the teeth ripped out of my arm, blood streaming down, but I managed to flip around and land on its back instead of the floor. I nearly fell off, but my instinctive 'climb to survive and steal things' skill helped me scrabble along the back until I found the wing joints to rest against. Its wings were still pressed tightly against its sides, so I could actually brace myself with my feet, freeing up my arm to snatch out Thoron. My sword was gone; for all I knew, the dragon had swallowed it. But I had my magic still, and I had a clear shot on its wing, even folded up as it was.

So, I loosed another Thoron, nearly yelping as the force actually knocked me back, sliding across the scales and this time, falling straight off, though thankfully mostly on my feet. The dragon, however, shrieked in pain and its ruined wing stretched out, showcasing the lovely, bloody path I carved through it. I almost grinned, except I was in a lot of pain, and my vision was blurring. I was barely standing up.

The dragon roared, purple magic-flames licking at its bloody jaw, prepping another breath attack. My sword was jutting out awkwardly, replacing a couple of teeth that had fallen to the floor, and I focused on it, shooting out a third Thoron. My footing slipped, so I fell flat on my ass, but while _most_ of the spell was ineffective, the part that hit my sword managed to conduct inside the mouth. The dragon roared yet again, the purple magic-flames disappearing, and it twisted towards me. My vision was mostly patches at this point, but luckily the dragon was huge and I could make out 'dull white' patches for teeth and 'darker patches for mouth', so I fired off a fourth Thoron.

It wasn't a perfect shot, only half got in the mouth, but that had been enough for it to stumble back, hacking up blood. It managed two steps before falling to its knees, and then falling to its side. Not even a dragon could take lightning bouncing three times through its insides, I guessed. And if I was wrong, well, it wasn't moving, so someone else could ensure the job.

I let Thoron fall from my hands, splashing in the blood nearby, and I debated just falling backwards. Someone, however, supported my back and actually picked me up. All I saw was red, but that told me who it was: Cain. I managed to grin up at him, or what I thought was him through the blurs, and then closed my eyes to fight off dizziness. A small bit of healing magic washed over me, and I spared a thought of 'where the hell did that come from' before just focusing on breathing.

I couldn't believe Diana did stupid this like this multiple times. No wonder she was forbidden to do much of anything. She needed to get treated for insanity. I definitely needed to. But hey, it worked, so yay?

* * *

There was something very strange at watching a needle go into your arm multiple times, yet not feel a damn thing. There was something very, very strange.

"That was a very brave, but very foolish thing to do, you know," Nyna murmured. She was apparently the best at stitching up injuries, and so, she was tasked with piecing together the mangled skin of my left arm. "But, I suppose that was needed in a situation like that."

"Yeah, we were all dying," I replied. I held myself stiffly, remembering the one that had died for me. We'd lost fifty people in that assault, all those I'd never know. I felt sick over it. "Though, to be fair, while I'd planned for it, I didn't… wait, hang on…"

"Easy, you are still on pain medications."

"They taste horrible, by the way." They also made it feel like my thoughts were drowning in syrup. "Is there a way to sweeten them up?"

"Not that we have on hand, and we make them taste bad in the hopes of staving off addictions." Nyna tied off the thread and began bandaging up my arm. "You'll have to rest the arm, but providing you do, you should make a full recovery, thanks to Linde."

"Where did she even find the staff anyway?" That had been the source of healing magic I'd sensed. Linde didn't know enough to heal me, but she had known enough to keep me stable until they could get me to a 'proper' healer.

"Linde had run into the throne room to try and keep herself out of the way, and found one near the shattered throne." Nyna smiled slightly, smoothing out the bandages as she went. "Marth mentioned that his mother and sister were trained in healing arts, and the townsfolk remember how Princess Elice had healed the soldiers in that throne room until they were overrun."

"So, it was likely a staff stashed there, or the staff Elice left behind."

"More likely the latter, in my opinion." She tied off the bandages and set her hands in her lap. Her hair was falling out of its bun, and her dress was ruined, but she still gave me a kind, if tired, smile. "Regardless, thanks to prompt medical treatment, some powerful staves, and very skilled healers, so long as you listen and rest, you should retain full movement of the arm."

"And have some cool scars with it?" I laughed awkwardly. I was keenly aware that I should've lost the arm. Lena had told me the possibility of having my arm amputated was still there, depending on how these wounds healed. "So, am I clear?"

"You are. After all…" Nyna's smile warmed. It still had a sadness to it, but it was as genuine of a smile as I'd ever seen. "The battle for Altea is over."

"We did it!" I grinned, elated. Finally, finally… it had take two years, but we were finally back. "Yay~!" Though, there was a bit of sadness to it. I did wish Frey could see this moment. I wondered what happened to his body. But that would be a thought for another day.

I left the infirmary, and wandered through the castle. It was still bloody, broken, and a general mess, but everyone had been eager to move into the place as soon as possible. As I walked through the halls, I heard laughter and general merriment. People were drinking and having fun already, and I couldn't help but smile at it. I even had a skip to my step, or I did until I started asking around and no one seemed to know where Marth was. I wandered and wandered, smile fading with each step, until I made it to his old room.

I found Marth curled up in the corner, clutching something in his hand. He jumped when I opened the door, though, so it rolled through the dust. I picked it up to see it was a ring, a very pretty diamond ring, with blood caked over it, deep in the tiny grooves. I wasn't sure if it would ever be clean again.

"That's my mother's wedding ring," Marth whispered. His eyes wavered with tears and his voice shook. His tone, however, was dull, like it was too much to emote. "One of the servants managed to salvage it."

"Salvage?" I repeated, stepping closer. He flinched, though, so I paused. "So, she is dead, isn't she?"

"The dragon you killed ate her." He smiled bitterly. "She's gone. There's not even a body. Most of the servants I knew, actually, are gone too. The one who saved her ring was a new one, a stable boy just hired on."

"Marth…"

"So, we did it. We're home." He laughed mirthlessly, looking to the side. "But there's none of my old life here. Dolhr slaughtered it all, and Elice, if she still lives, is captive somewhere else."

"…You can cry, you know." I nudged the door shut behind me and leaned against it. "You're allowed to cry."

"I need to put on an appearance soon, for the people." He tried to smile again. It was horribly broken. "I am a prince before I am a son."

"You're a person before you're a prince, you idiot."

"Not to them, especially now."

"That is such bullshit, and you-" A knock startled both him and me, and I carefully opened the door, wondering what the hell. To my surprise, though, Caeda was standing there, fidgeting. "Hi?"

"Hi," Caeda murmured. She smiled shyly. "I'm sorry. I was looking for Marth, and I asked where his room was, since I thought he might be here, and-"

"Your timing is magnificent," I replied, tugging her inside and pushing her towards Marth. "Make sure he has a good cry, because freaking hell, he needs one, and I'm going to find some way to make it look like he hasn't bawled by the time he absolutely needs to appear, okay?" I wondered for a split-second how I was going to do that, but then I thought of the obvious solution. "There's still time before you have to be their star and savior, or whatever the hell they're going to throw on you, Marth. So, cuddle with Caeda."

I left them then, mostly because I wasn't sure how much time I did have. I didn't know anything about public appearances, but I knew someone who was probably the damn expert in it. So, I asked around, and was quickly directed to a side room not far from the infirmary. It made sense, though, since Diana was rarely far from the healers during and after battles. At the moment, though, she was helping Maria, Yuliya, and Jubelo organize things for the infirmary, along with some pink haired man I didn't know at all.

"Diana?" I called, knocking on the doorframe. She turned to me curiously, folding a blanket. "I need help. What's a good way to hide someone has been crying?"

"I tend to use cold water, and…" she began. Then she smiled and set the blanket down, gently ruffling Maria's hair, and kissing Yuliya and Jubelo on the cheek. "Here, let me just help. It's Marth, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I smiled back, relieved. I knew she'd know. "Thanks."

"I am an expert on getting the royals to public appearances with all their dignity." She winked to show she was teasing. "Here, let me arrange. You go be the friend."

"I've Caeda-"

"Never mind, you can help me gather things and people." She paused and glared at the new one. "And no, you're staying right here. You don't know how Marth acts to imitate him."

I wanted to ask, but Diana expertly asked the three little royals to assist, and then it was getting things ready for a 'proper public appearance'. I'd ask later.

* * *

Diana orchestrated everything so that Marth only had to appear for a very brief moment and wave to the gathered crowds. She'd fixed up his face expertly, with barely a trace of redness and puffiness to show he'd been crying at all. She also set the rumor up that Marth got some dust in his eyes to help explain away the bits that remained. From there, she got Nyna and Hardin to step out too, and… basically, she just arranged everything so that no one felt cheated, but no one felt pushed. I was _so_ glad I asked her.

"That worked out so much better than I hoped," I whispered, walking the halls. It was sunset now, so the whole hall was awash in golden-red light. "So much better." What I liked most, though, was how Nyna had hugged Marth shortly before they all went out, and how Hardin had snagged Marth afterwards to help him hide for a time. They knew well just how much he was hurting.

I smiled, resisting the urge to giggle, and continued down my way. Before long, though, I'd reached my destination: that window. I rested my hands on the ledge and looked out, noticing how, from here, everything looked rather peaceful. Then I found myself laughing, thinking about how, when I first climbed through this window, I was just a thief. Now, I was… well, not a thief.

"Kris!" Caeda ran up then, smiling. Her eyes were a bit puffy, hinting she'd been crying earlier too, but for the most part, her smile was genuine. "What are you doing here?" she asked curiously, peeking out the window. "Oh, pretty."

"It is, isn't it?" I murmured. "But that's not why I'm here." I smiled at her, feeling the overwhelming urge to laugh. "This is where it all began for me."

"Was it?"

"Yeah, I'd snuck in with a few other thieves to steal from the palace, and ended up saving Marth's life."

"Ah, I know that story. Marth told me of it." She giggled, looking out over everything again. "Altea is as beautiful as he described."

"Do you miss Talys?"

"A little. Well, more than a little." Her smile became nostalgic. "But, when this is over, I can go back."

"But maybe live here with Marth~?" I grinned and she blushed madly. "Come on. You had to have thought about it."

"Don't be mean!" She sulked and I snickered. "We'll see what happens." Her eyes lit up suddenly, and she smiled brightly. "But that is neither here nor there! I'm supposed to meet Nyna for sweets! Bye~!" She scampered off and I stared after her, horribly confused by the suddenly change in demeanor.

"Kris?" However, Cain's voice was very close behind me, and I turned to confirm that, yes, he really was walking up. "There you are," he murmured. I had to fight off the urge to glower. This was definitely Caeda's revenge for the teasing. Definitely. "I thought you would've been in the infirmary?"

"I'm cleared," I replied. I gestured at my left arm, covered in bandages still. "I'd hold it up for inspection, but I'm really supposed to keep it as unmoving as possible."

"I see." He stopped right in front of me, and rested a hand gently on my upper arm. I winced from the pain, and he pulled back. "Sorry. That bad?"

"Yeah, they're still not quite sure if they'll have to amputate it or not, though they do think I'll make a full recovery, at this point." I smiled awkwardly, trying not to fidget. He and I hadn't had a conversation since I accidentally impulsively kissed his cheek. "So, I'm on bedrest for… however long they say."

"Well, we'll be lingering in Altea for a few days. There are some stragglers, after all." Cain glanced out the window, before looking back to me. "You should have the time to rest."

"I hope we all do." A thought occurred to me and I made sure to smile. "Thank you for catching me, by the way. Well, sort of catching?" I grimaced, not quite sure what to call 'preventing me from curling up on the bloody floor'. "Whatever. Thanks."

"I'm glad I could reach." He studied me for a long moment before leaning down and, very deliberately, kissing me on the forehead. Then he walked away, leaving me staring after him, blushing madly. I almost wanted to snap at him for it, but I couldn't. It was very similar to what I'd done, and I was a little too surprised to form coherent noises anyway.

What the hell did that mean? I had no clue. But I had a feeling that things were going to be awkward for a while longer yet.

* * *

 _Notes on Midia:_

 _A knight of Archanea, and the technical Marchioness of Deil, since her father was killed during Archanea's fall. A passionate woman who sticks to her path._

 _A skilled knight, though she's rusty due to two years of imprisonment, especially thanks to the harsh treatment after Camus was relieved of his control of Archanea._

 _She's the lover of Astram and an old friend (and former girlfriend) of Jeorge, so she's often seen with them when not on duty._

 _Notes on Dolph:_

 _A knight of Archanea, quiet and apparently not related to Macellan._

 _Heavily armored, he takes pride in being a living shield, basically. He frequently protects his comrades in battle._

 _A bit of a glutton, he loves a good meal, possibly because of the poor food they got as prisoners._

 _Notes on Macellan_

 _A knight of Archanea, stoic and apparently not related to Dolph._

 _Heavily armored, he takes his job as a defender seriously, frequently holding lines to allow the wounded to fall back._

 _Enjoys cooking and is responsible for most of the food the army eats._

 _Notes on Tomas:_

 _An archer of Archanea, who is very quiet and loves his craft._

 _Like most of the archers, he's best suited to covering fire._

 _Doesn't get along with Jeorge, but Jeorge never seems to notice._

 _Notes on Boah:_

 _A former advisor of the royal family, who takes up the role again with Nyna. However, he focuses more on Archanea and not enough on Nyna, perhaps as penance for letting her father be selfish._

 _He helps Wendell on the field as a back-up healer, and rarely speaks with anyone that isn't Archanean._

 _When he's not pressuring her, he actually does dote on Nyna._

* * *

Author's note: So, mage dragons are known for being one of the only enemies in the early fire emblem games that can't be easily destroyed by magic (resistance sucks for everyone, ally and foe alike). How that works depends on the game. FE1/FE11 outright made them immune, while FE3 just gave them a ridiculously high resistance stat, one that could eventually be overcome. I merged the two to make it where the dragon's _scales_ were impervious to magic, but it was still vulnerable if you struck an area not covered in scales. Which, of course, then made it the perfect dragon for Kris to kill. Mage dragons don't appear to have wings in their battle models in FE3/FE11/FE12, but they do the TCG, FE1, and in an illustration from _The Making of Fire Emblem 25_ _th_ _Anniversary_ book (though that picture admittedly looks a lot like Idenn from FE6). However, I went with wings to make this a little easier to pull off.

Next Chapter – Prisoner of Helena (Shadow Dragon Paralogue)


	32. Chapter 15x) Prisoner of Helena

Chapter 15x) Prisoner of Helena

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _Altea is free. Though we cannot linger too long, we do take our rest where we are able. Teams are sent to different locations, smaller squads that can move faster, to strike down the lingering remains of Dolhr. Those who remain behind take it easy, tending to injuries and helping the nearby villages rebuild, and join in on their festivities._

 _I have to keep an eye on all the royals to make sure they keep up appearances, though. They can speak of 'modest royalty' all they want, but the people want a show. They want a visible sign of the power their prince-king has, especially after spending so long under the rule of a dragon who loathed them. It took so long to convince Prince Marth of this. Thankfully, Nyna just told him to give up because I can out-stubborn anyone and anything, even a god, when it came to fashion. I do try and keep them simple, though. Too fancy will make them seem frivolous, after all._

* * *

"Minerva, don't take them so high! They were ill earlier today!" For a moment, I wasn't sure if she'd heard my shout, but Minerva waved and then gestured for Palla and Catria to fly a bit lower while she maintained her height. "Thank you!"

I really shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't help but fret. Thanks to the free time today, and beautiful weather, Minerva had asked Yuliya and Jubelo if they wanted to fly. They'd been hesitant, but Maria happily convinced them, and begged to go along too. So now, Maria rode with Minerva, Yuliya rode with Palla, and Jubelo rode with Catria high above my head. And I stood below, fussing and fretting, even as I smiled at how much the three children were laughing. They deserved this little bit of happiness. They more than deserved it.

"You fret over our clothes, you fret over Princess Nyna's health, and you fret over the twins." Hardin walked up then with a smile and a laugh, shaking his head. "Is there ever a time where you're not fretting, Diana?" he chided. His clothes implied he'd just returned from his morning ride; we weren't far from the stables. "Besides when you're sleeping, I mean."

"Are you kidding? I have nightmares over that outfit Caeda tried to wear to the village," I grumbled. Luckily, Caeda didn't mind my fussing and happily change clothes when I insisted. "I'd fret less if you royals were better at keeping up your appearances. And don't go on about 'more important things to worry about'. It reassures people to see their nobles dressed properly, and they need all the reassurances they can get."

"It is also reassuring to see that their nobles aren't spending their gold recklessly."

"And have they gotten that impression with the clothes I've picked out for you?" I waited, smugly, and he brought his hands up in defeat. "You're not winning that argument. Fashion is important, and I'm just as good at that as I am at killing."

"A shame that Medeus isn't committing fashion crimes. We'd just send you to him and he'd be crying for mercy within a heartbeat."

"Well, he could be. I haven't seen him." I paused, thinking. "Nefy, however, does need new robes, and he seriously need to treat his skin better. It was this ugly grey-purple. I wonder why he'd do that to himself. Imhullu's power isn't worth looking like _that_." I grinned when I noticed Hardin desperately trying to stifle his laughter, and failing miserably. "How was the ride, by the way?"

"Soothing. It's not as lovely as the Lea, but it's similar enough to comfort my homesick spirit. Not even Wolf complained."

"Now that _is_ a high compliment." Laughter brought my attention above again, and I winced when I noticed how fast Catria made a turn. I had no doubts Jubelo was enjoying himself, but he'd been the sicker of the two this morning. "Ah…"

"Relax a little. I'm certain Princess Minerva is keeping a close eye, especially since you gave her that warning." He smiled slightly. "You flew, once, now that I'm remembering."

"Yeah, when Minerva pretended she didn't recognize you, and you proved yourself to be the best liar ever so that we could save some civilians." A thought occurred to me then, and I returned my attention to him. "Did I ever properly thank you for finding us and giving us shelter, by the way? I remember panicking over Nyna fainting, but I can't remember that."

"Mmm… I can't either, but at the same time, I never needed the gratitude." His smile grew. "However, Wolf never groused about it, so maybe you did."

"Or Sedgar told him to be nicer to the traumatized girls."

"That wouldn't work. Wolf is very skilled at conveniently ignored Sedgar's sage advice."

"Oh, then maybe I did." I glanced up again, smiling at the laughter once more. "I'm surprised, though. That I remembered, I mean. I was such a brat. I refused all the maids who could've helped and kept tossing well-meant gifts into the corner." I made a face as I remembered the dresses. "Well, to be fair, those dresses would've looked hideous on Nyna, but I could've at least hung them up or something."

"I always figured it was just a way you could bleed out your frustration with everything, and it was hilarious watching you complain about the colors."

"Until you were the victim." I smiled wryly and he laughed, conceding the point. "Both Nyna and I also did you a huge discourtesy by keeping ourselves so walled off when you were only trying to help. I'm sorry for that."

"You were adapting and trying to heal."

"And doing poorly."

"Unfortunately, in cases like that, it's the people hurting who must realize their methods aren't working. Trying to convince them otherwise will only make them cling all the harder because it _seems_ like it's working."

"You've experience in that. I'm guessing from your most loyal four."

"At least you two weren't convinced self-harm was reasonable." He watched the three fliers, smiling. "Hmm, if they can handle this, perhaps they might want to try riding. Are they going to continue to come with us?"

"It's still technically in debates, but I think they're going to continue staying with us for a little longer." I wasn't sure how to feel about that. It would be better for them to get away from the battles, but leaving them among strangers didn't feel like a way to actually help them heal. "Prince Marth is sending some messengers into Grust to see if they'll be willing to stand down. We've gotten a lot of victories."

"Do you think the King of Grust will surrender?"

"No, he won't care enough to. But maybe his generals will in his stead." I didn't have high hopes for that either. I had no idea if word of Yuliya and Jubelo's safety had reached them, or if it would. I honestly wasn't sure if the messages would reach them. It would be nice, but far too easy. "But that's neither here nor there. You had wanted to talk to me about something."

"Ah, yes." Hardin glanced around the area, checking that we were alone, and a bad feeling crawled up my spine. "I wanted to continue a conversation we had a long while ago."

"Something tells me this isn't 'Diana, get your damn guard up'."

"No, but you do need better practice at that." He kept his expression stoic. "You mentioned that Princess Nyna was in love with someone. I wish to guess who it is."

"Really?"

"Yes." His expression softened when I narrowed my eyes. "Now, if I'm wrong, you don't have to tell me. But I'm curious if I'm correct."

"Mmm… okay, if you're right, I'll let you know." I tensed anyway. I didn't like this much, but he had been a trusted ally, a friend, for a long while. If I was going to trust anyone in this world, it was going to be him because of everything he'd done for both Nyna and me. "So, what's your guess?"

"Camus." He smiled slightly when I winced. "Aha, so I did figure it out."

"What gave it away?"

"Princess Nyna pays closer attention as soon as anything with Grust and the Sable Order comes up. It's subtle, but it's happened enough times that you can't help but notice a pattern. And you, Diana, never called him by title or nickname, showing that he had to be at least a friend to you."

"I see." I tensed further and I fixed him with a hard stare. "What are you going to do with the information, if I may ask?"

"Nothing, really. I'm more worried as to what you and Princess Nyna plan." His eyes darkened with worry. "He is the enemy."

"Nyna will do what she feels she must. I, however…" I bit my lip and sighed. "I, however, am her bodyguard and best friend. I'm Camus's friend. I'm going to do my best to kick some sense into him and drag him out of the war."

"Please don't get horribly hurt, again."

"Well, no promises. But, hey, I actually have a few advantages on him!" I grinned when he gave me a skeptical look. "It's nothing 'tactical', so don't even try to figure it from that perspective. You will fail."

"If you're banking on friendship…"

"Nope." At the least, it wasn't entirely that. "But are you okay?"

"Hmm?"

"You." I pointed at him for emphasis and, after a moment, he smiled. "Are _you_ okay?"

"Oh, it hurts. No matter how old you get, or whatever is going on, knowing that your feelings are not returned hurts." He shrugged, though, and smiled. "However, it is much better to know, in my opinion. Regardless of anything else, I do hope she'll be happy. I hope all of us will, once this war ends. I'll be okay."

"You're kind, Hardin. I hope you'll be happy too." I looked up again, mostly to end the conversation, and panicked when I noticed Yuliya leaning over the side. "Yuliya, sit properly! Make it easier on Palla, just in case!"

Hardin laughed and laughed as I began my frantic worrying. I didn't think he was as 'okay' as he tried to portray, but he would be eventually. No matter what, he was Nyna's ally and Prince Marth's friend. His smile said he was proud of those roles, happy about them. Once his heart healed a little, he'd be even happier about them.

It would just take a little bit of time, but he was okay with that. So, I made sure to smile reassuringly at him, a silent 'Let me know if you need anything', before I returned to watching the fliers worriedly. That, at least, was something I could do.

* * *

"I am rather surprised you were assigned to a different 'group' than Princess Nyna," Lena observed. Her light tone and calm expression belied the fact that she was sewing up a soldier's torso. Thankfully, this one was already unconscious, and we were in the middle of 'waves'. The infirmary was quiet. "Or, rather, that you were assigned to a group at all. You are her bodyguard, after all."

"Midia is handling any 'bodyguard' things for the moment," I explained, shrugging. I folded up blankets in the corner of the infirmary and then wiped some blood off of some scalpels. Lena was the only healer for this operation, so I tended to the mending and cleaning for her. "But please don't remind me that I'm not there. I'm fretting terribly. Nyna has no idea how to put on her makeup properly."

"You don't need to try and make me laugh, you know." Still, she did smile and giggle. "I am not so tired for that yet."

"I am being completely truthful." I was also worried Xane was shapeshifting while I was away to pull pranks. He'd shown off his abilities to Prince Marth, and had earned the wary trust of others while behaving. But I wasn't there to help with damage control, and to ensure he kept on behaving. "To answer your question, though, normally I wouldn't. But this is a good chance to check whether or not Yuliya and Jubelo can spend a few days away from me. I thought learning that would be more important than what Nyna would require." I shot her a large grin. "Do you dislike my company so? I know I'm not Julian or anything, but still."

"Oh, you!" She made a face at me, which did nothing to hide her blush. "It's not that at all. I was simply curious. So, you're making sure they don't grow absolutely dependent on you."

"Precisely." Though I did fret, not only for them, but for Nyna as well. However, I had faith that they would be fine. "Nyna was going to spend most of her time with Caeda and Minerva anyway while we're here at Helena Castle, and she promised me that she won't do anything dangerous while I am away."

"And there's no political motivations involved?"

"Oh, if we're going with political reasons, then having someone associated heavily with Nyna for this is absolutely necessary." I finished cleaning the scalpels and began checking on the sleeping wounded for Lena. "It's why Roshea made sure to be here, as well as Catria and Ogma. Prince Marth is leading us here, and the four of us in particularly are strongly associated with his most stalwart allies. We're a visible representation of the alliance that is currently destroying a key supply point for Dolhr and Grust. It's good for disrupting their morale."

"I knew there was a political reason." Lena laughed and tied off her thread. She washed the injury again and dried it off before bandaging the soldier up. "I knew there was something."

"Of course." I frowned as I came upon one soldier, a young one that likely lied about their age when they signed up. Their bandages were already soaked. "Lena, let's switch. This one's has bled through."

"Thank you." She tossed me the roll of bandages she was using as we passed by each other. "Oh, goodness, what happened here?"

Knowing she was merely thinking aloud, I didn't even give a smartass answer to that. I just focused on bandaging the unconscious soldier, before going to check in on the other patients, just in case. I'd just finished when someone entered, and I whirled, hand dropping to my sword. I expected either an enemy or the next wave of wounded, something to shatter the calm air. I got, strangely, a confused Julian.

"Are things so boring outside that you've come in to flirt?" I asked dryly, relaxing. "You never come in here during a battle, unless you're injured. Are you?"

"No, I'm not, and no, I'm not…" Julian began. His face reddened, hinting he was going to protest the comment about flirting, but he threw his hands up, knowing that he wasn't a good enough liar to play off that. "Anyway, you don't seem busy."

"Well, Lena is." I glanced over and saw her stitching up the injuries of that soldier I'd directed her towards. Her tense posture, steady hands, and dark eyes told me she was entirely focused on her task. "But no, I'm not. Why?"

"Supposedly, there's a prisoner, and knowing Prince Marth, he'll want someone to check that out. I, however, don't want to go alone. That seems very idiotic, especially since this whole thing has been going fairly well with minimal problems, but not so minimal that we're expecting bad things."

"So, you want me to go with you?"

"I know, it's weird, but we have no idea about this prisoner. Could be an old man. Could be a soldier. Could be a child." Julian shrugged. "You've a fairly good record with prisoners and keeping them calm and under control?"

"I wouldn't quite say that…?" At the same time, though, I did follow his logic. Somewhat. Maybe. "Oh, whatever. Get a guard, and I'll let Lena know when she's not quite as distracted."

It took a while to catch Lena's attention, but when I did, I waited for Julian to return with a guard. He came back with two, to my surprise, but I didn't ask as I followed him through the outskirts of the battle and into actual castle. It was surprisingly easy, but just when I was about to ask, I noticed the few enemies we did encounter just weren't paying attention. Their eyes were on a man with red hair and a monocle, of all things, who didn't look too happy to be there. Julian and I killed them easily, but not that man. Perhaps more importantly, he didn't do a thing to help his supposed 'comrades'.

"Well, you're an unusual enemy," I commented. The man said nothing, but he studied us closely. "Julian, chances that he's the prisoner you mentioned?"

"Pretty high, considering this is the way to the dungeons," Julian answered. He double-checked that the enemies were dead, before nodding at the still silent man. "Name is Julian. This is Diana. We're with Altea. You are?"

"…Etzel," the man replied slowly. He tucked his tome under his arm, but still watched us closely. "You were looking for a prisoner?"

"We have a policy to free prisoners of the enemy," I explained. Julian checked the area, so I focused on talking. "Particularly since these prisoners can be anyone from old men to young children."

"I see. Rather kind of you."

"Kind to some. Pragmatic to others." I shrugged. "So, what's your story? You don't seem to want a fight?"

"No, but I can't simply leave." Etzel sighed, closing his eyes. "The general stole a very precious thing to me, a ring, and I will not leave without it."

"You're fighting for a ring?" That wasn't the oddest reason I've ever heard, but it was up there. "Well, what does it look like?" I pointed to Julian, who winked and grinned. "He's good at snatching things."

"Hey, hey, let's not give him the wrong impression!" Julian instantly retorted. I almost rolled my eyes, but his grin grew. "I'm absolutely amazing at snatching and stealing, thank you very much."

"My mistake," I replied, barely checking the urge to laugh. I noted the tome again and the narrow space of the hallway, and nodded "So, Sir Etzel, would you like to pretend to fight long enough for Julian to recover your ring?"

"Shouldn't take long. He's all distracted anyway thanks to the battle." Julian winked. "I'm off!"

"Wait, he hasn't agreed yet!" Of course, my words fell on deaf ears. Julian had disappeared down the hall long before I knew it. "You know; I had intended to wait for your answer. I promise."

"It's fine," Etzel reassured. He let the tome fall into his hands again. "I was going to agree. It seems like I have a better chance with you. How good are you at dodging?"

"Fairly decent, and I've a higher than normal resistance to magic." I smiled slightly and brought my blade up. "I didn't make the offer without considering things."

"Clever."

"Lucky, really." I ducked under the spell he slung, and noticed he had a noticeably different style to fighting than Linde, Merric, and Kris. Kris's focused on sharp and quick movements, befitting a former thief. Linde and Merric used grander gestures, but slower and stood their ground.

Etzel, on the other hand, was constant movement. It was almost like a dance. All the movements were fluid, flowing easily from one to the next. It wasn't a fast casting by any means, but the way he moved made me think he boasted more defensive capabilities than them. Maybe. It was different. I knew that much. And it made me curious.

"So, mind if I ask what the deal is with the ring?" I asked, pretending to dart close for a strike before pulling back. Honestly, the two of us probably could've just sat and waited, but it was better to pretend, just in case. If we had, then I knew, without a doubt, a whole squadron would've appeared. Because luck. "It's obviously very precious."

"It's all I have left of my wife, now," he explained. "She was killed when Gra betrayed Altea. We were fighting, and I dropped my guard." His eyes faltered and the spell went way wide. It cracked the stone of the wall. "She protected me, but because of the spell, her body crumbled to ash. I salvaged her wedding ring."

"I'm sorry." I knew nothing else to say. "Well, Julian will get it back for you. He's guarantee results in a convenient human."

"I'm pleased to hear that." He threw another spell and I jumped over it. "So, when this is over, you'll continue fighting?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Someone has to." I shrugged and lunged forward, pretending to go for his legs. I aimed for the spot by his foot, though, and jumped back just before I chipped my sword on the stone. "Might as well be us. It's not like Medy and Nefy are going to leave us alone."

"…Who and who?" He lost his calm briefly to give me the most incredulous look I've ever seen. "Who?"

"Look, I don't call them by their names. I just don't. I give them cutesy names instead. They're more adorable that way."

"Why would you want to make them adorable?"

"Why not? It seems everyone making them all doom and gloom isn't doing much but making them miserable." I shrugged, holding up sword up in a 'guard' position. "Regardless, they won't leave us alone, so we fight back. We've been doing rather well, all things considered. Maybe we'll win."

"I can't tell if that's hopelessly idealistic or refreshingly hopeful."

"Neither. It's simply the truth as I see it."

"I'm baaaack~!" Julian hopped over, and both Etzel and I jumped. I looked around, wondering where the hell he came from, before thinking to actually look up. Sure enough, there was a ceiling title moved to the side. "This was the only ring he hand," Julian explained, holding up a beautiful sapphire ring. He politely ignored how Etzel and I were recovering from heart attacks. "This it?"

"Ah, yes!" Etzel confirmed. He took the ring from Julian and cradled it, smiling softly. His eyes filled with tears as he bowed. "Thank you. Truly."

"It's fine. I'm glad we found it." Julian squirmed, clearly uncomfortable. "So… uh…"

"Don't mind him, Etzel. Unless you're a pretty cleric named Lena, he's horrible with gratitude," I teased. Julian glowered, and Etzel straightened with a watery laugh. "So, with the ring, you can leave, yes?"

"Yes, I can." Etzel nodded and carefully tucked the ring into his pocket. "I need to find a chain for it. They broke my previous one."

"Do you have a destination?" I studied him when he shook his head. "Well, do you want to come with us? Magic is always helpful, you're clearly skilled, and you can see whether my words will be true for you, with your own eyes."

"Mm… I've no taste for war…" Etzel closed his eyes, clearly contemplating it. "However, I do have a fierce hunger for ending it. Might I speak with your leader before making a decision?"

"Certainly." I looked to Julius. "Can you escort him once we're out of here? I'd like to get back to the infirmary, and it's not like I know where Prince Marth is."

"Yeah, no worries," Julius reassured. He patted Etzel on the back and grinned. "Follow me. We'll go on the edges."

I followed the two closely until we were outside, at which point I returned to helping Lena. A good thing too, since she'd gotten hit with the next wave of wounded and needed all the help she could get. I wondered how many would make it out of this, but shook my head and kept on working, following Lena's instructions as best as I could. It didn't matter, really. I just would do what I could.

* * *

Prince Marth, as expected, welcomed Etzel with open arms and, with Castle Helena freed, we returned to Castle Altea with a large supply of supplies and gold as our prizes. Yuliya and Jubelo welcomed me back with bright smiles and huge hugs. They actually had the energy to tackle me, which made me laugh, but I noticed how they clung. They managed, but they still preferred having me near. After putting them to bed for the night, I decided to check in on how they'd been, worried, and found myself in the 'sewing study' with Linde. And feeling personally attacked at just how bad she sewed.

"Yeah, they had a panic attack not long after you were out of sight," Linde freely admitted, attempting to mend a shirt at the same time. She winced as she pricked her fingers, though, and whimpered. "Ugh, how do you sew!? This is so hard!"

"Well, for one thing, it helps to pay attention to where your thumbs are," I pointed out. Finally having enough, I took the needle, thread, and shirt from her, and proceeded to mend it myself. "You're using the wrong kind of stitch for this too. It's too fragile for how much wear and tear it has to endure."

"…There's different stitches?"

"I have no qualms teaching you, for the record." I settled back in my chair, relaxing as I stitched. "But yes, there are. Backstitch, chain stitch, buttonhole stitch, catch stitch, darning stitch…"

"Ugh…" Linde sighed. "Maybe I should just stick to laundry. I'm not too bad at that." She paused. "I think."

"You're no worse than most of the people in the army. I'll show you a few tricks."

"Is there anything household that you can't do?"

"I'm not the best of cooks, and gods above, don't give me a glove to mend. I can never manage it. And that's just what's on the top of my head." I finished the shirt with ease and stole her basket to continue with her mending. "But they had a panic attack?"

"They did, but we managed to get them to calm down." Linde shrugged and got the first aid kit to mend her fingers. "Wendell says it was probably important, since now they know that while they prefer you, and feel safest with you, they _can_ make it without you. Which… wait, hold on, that sounds…"

"It sounds as if we're doing well in making sure they are not dependent on me." I couldn't deny feeling a little sad about it. I liked taking care of them and, more selfishly, I liked being needed. But it was a good thing that they not become dependent. Nyna and I were still having some troubles. "That's all. It's good."

"I could've worded it better."

"No, because that's exactly what it is." I smiled reassuringly at her, finishing up another shirt and picking some pants out of the basket. "I'm like their security blanket. If I'm there, they prefer it. But they know they don't need the blanket to keep warm and safe. There are others they can rely on. So, when we camp and go to battle, they can go to a much safer place, and know that things will be okay."

"True. Though, Wendell did mention that he's not sure how they'll do if someone not associated with our army is near. Or someone associated with you. They calmed down far faster with Princess Nyna and me, than with, say, Norne." She hummed a little in thought, kicking her legs a little. "Though, they get along great with Bantu. He's amazing with kids."

"He's a centuries old dragon with a kind streak. I'd be surprised if he wasn't."

"Oh, true. I always forget he's a dragon. He's still recovering from his injuries at Archanea, so I've never seen him transform." Linde pouted suddenly. "Hey, wait, you're mending all those tears while talking?"

"I have much more experience with this than you." I, after all, had been taught embroidery since I was very small. "It's second nature to me, like swinging a sword."

"Argh, I'm going to get better so that I can do that too!"

"As I mentioned, I have no qualms with teaching you." I looked up again and smiled. "However, I do think I'm taking over the mending for you tonight."

"Fine, fine. You just got back, so you don't have chores, so I'll go see if anyone else needs help." She hopped to her feet, bouncing on her toes, and smiled. "Glad to have you back, Diana. How is your back doing?"

"It's mostly healed by now, thankfully." At the least, the wound Imhullu left had scabbed over. "By the end of the week, it'll hopefully be healed enough that we won't have to worry about it."

"Good." Her smile softened with relief, and I made sure to smile back. I knew she felt guilty over all the injuries I'd picked up, but I considered them a fair trade for not only her life, but Yuliya and Jubelo's as well. "See you in the morning!"

"Sleep well!" She skipped out, humming a song off-key under her breath. I watched her leave with a smile before focusing entirely on the mending. It was soothing, and I wondered if I should try to actually make a dress. I hadn't done that in a long while, so it would have to be something very simple, and we might not have the cloth to spare. Maybe something for after the war.

At some point during my half-planning, I became aware of someone watching me. I pretended not to notice, in case it was an enemy, but whoever it was didn't move. They just continued to watch, so I finished mending a seam on some pants and tied off my thread before looking up to try and figure out who was watching. The answer was fairly easy to figure out, though. It was Jeorge, and he leaned casually in the doorway, simply smiling.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't want to disturb you," he whispered, nodding. "Seems you made it back without injuries."

"I did. Nyna was very proud of me," I replied. I set the pants in the 'done' pile, and twisted in my chair to face him. "Did you need something mending? That scarf, perhaps?"

"You are not stealing my scarf." He rolled his eyes, and I smiled slightly. "I told you during the battle that I wanted to continue that talk."

"You did." I kept eye contact, though I did want to look away. "Should I see about getting some tea? I'd offer wine, but we both know how low my tolerance is."

"It's deplorable, but no, this won't be long." His smile fell for a serious look, and I tried to not stiffen. "I wanted to apologize."

"For the flirting?" My heart keened. I had guessed something like this. "Well, that's-"

"For pushing. I'm not apologizing for the flirting. I'm quite serious about it, truthfully." He crossed his arms, completely focused on me. I managed to keep perfectly calm, but my heart was pounding. "But I did move fast, and push, and those were for the wrong reasons. Archanea's fall made it quite clear how fragile things are. When I saw you again, I felt as if I had to rush, had to push, because it was a miracle I had a second chance to get to know you, and maybe confess."

"…That's…"

"But that wasn't fair to you. There's a thousand and one things to worry about, and I added more selfishly." He took a step forward, and when I nodded, he knelt in front of me, and took my hand. "And that wasn't fair to you. So I am sorry for that. But I am not sorry for my feelings. I've been interested in you for quite a long while." Gently, he lifted my hand and kissed it. "So, I'll wait. I'll wait for your answer, Diana, however long you want or need. You go at your own pace. I love you, and I will wait for you. That's my response to your question."

I had no response, but thankfully, he didn't seem to expect one. Instead, he squeezed my hand reassuringly and left, smiling with gentle warmth. I watched him leave, stunned and touched, confused and giddy. I wasn't sure what sort of reply I'd been expecting, but apparently, it hadn't been that one. I had to sit down, and try to think through the whirling thoughts. But it quickly became very clear that I wasn't going to make it, so instead, I snatched up that basket of mending and moved to Midia's room to talk it over with her while I worked.

I couldn't deny how happy I was, though, which was probably answer enough. But he'd taken the time to think things through, and I… I would do the same. Because if nothing else, I respected him. So, I needed to give my answer the same respect he had given me.

* * *

 _Notes on Horace:_

 _A landed knight of Archanea, and an old friend of Jeorge, Midia, and Nyna. He was forced to betray Archanea prior to its fall in order to save his people._

 _A heavily armored knight with a specialty in lances and axes, he serves often as part of the vanguard to guard the less-armored soldiers._

 _Quiet, yet dutiful, he finds it hard to socialize with people given what he did, but is determined to live as per Nyna's orders._

 _Notes on Beck:_

 _A ballistician who enjoys a good battle. Gives his loyalty to Marth after being defeated._

 _As ballistae are situational weapons at best, he tends to be deployed as cover or to destroy castle doors._

 _Good friends with Jake, likely because they're the only ballisticians._

 _Notes on Astram:_

 _Mercenary of Archanea and lover of Midia, he's equally known for his loyalty and his hotheaded passion._

 _A skilled mercenary, however he is out of practice due to limited fighting and having little desire to fight with Jeorge missing, Midia captured, and Charles dead. He's getting back into the swing of things, though._

 _Best friend of Charles of the Wolf Pack mercenaries, and the reason why they were there during Archanea's fall. He feels no small amount of guilt for this._

* * *

Author's note: And here's the only recruitable dark mage/sorcerer in the game, Etzel. His wife shares a name with a villain from FE7, Ursula, which is rather amusing. Also have two heart to hearts?

Next chapter – Interlude, Altea


	33. Interlude - Altea

Interlude – Altea

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _Altea is free! Altea is free! It's amazing how awesome that feels., particularly since I'd never considered myself all that patriotic before all of this happened. But it's amazing. Altea was truly free, with all the enemy killed or chased out. We didn't have long to celebrate, though. We'd move on soon, to the Fane of Raman, where the Lightsphere and Starsphere rest. Not sure why we need them for a tome, but whatever._

 _For the moment, we enjoy our rest. Altea is free, after all._

* * *

I adjusted my gloves, grimacing a little as they caught on the bandages. I'd gotten my stitches out finally, but it still bled, so bandages to make sure I didn't bleed out. But I also wanted to hide, so gloves to make sure no one asked me about the injuries. Caeda made me new ones anyway, a soft white and gold pair, with special insulation to make it easier to cast thunder spells and to hold my blade. I couldn't help but wear it, and the other new clothes. Practically everyone had a new wardrobe made specifically for them and, for once, Diana hadn't even been the one to insist. Jagan had.

Laughter caught my ear, and I smiled, tugging my hood further over my head to make sure the citizens didn't see me. I didn't want fuss. I just wanted to wander through the festival. After all, ever since Altea was officially declared 'liberated', there had been a party every day in the castle town. Every. Day. All of us wanted to participate, but none of us wanted fuss, so each of us snuck in on our own time, wearing mostly casual clothes. Today was my turn. A few others did too, but I had really wanted to wander alone, so I didn't pay much attention.

Cheers startled me, and I frowned when I saw Marth on the balcony, waving to everyone. He shouldn't have been there; he was in a meeting with Nyna and Hardin. But then I facepalmed when I noticed the smile was off. That wasn't Marth at all. That was Xane, pretending to be Marth. Again.

"I swear we need to assign a keeper to him," I muttered, deciding to just ignore it. So long as he didn't flirt with Caeda again, we were good. Normally, I'd have laughed, but Caeda's feelings had been horribly hurt by the little prank, so instead, I'd threatened to electrocute him. No one messed with Caeda, and no one hurt my silly prince's chances with her. Period. "Maybe I need to threaten him again." I did have to admit that Xane's frantic apologizing had been funny, though. "I don't see why he thought we'd just shrug that sort of prank off. Then again, I don't think he understands why we'd be protective of each other in the first place."

"Dear, are you here alone?" A random lady stopped me and smiled brightly when I blinked at her. "Here, have some spiced wine!" she insisted, pushing a mug into my hands. I took it automatically. "Today is a day to celebrate!"

"Thank you?" I still stared, startled, but she disappeared down the road, passing mugs to other people. "…You know, I don't think I've ever had wine before, or a good one at least." I sipped it and almost immediately gagged. "Oh, holy hell, people like this stuff? They drink it recreationally?" They must've lost all sense of taste.

So, I continued down the main street, sipping the spiced wine with morbid curiosity. Did it taste better with repeated sips? Would it just burn all the sense of taste from my mouth? I had no idea, but it certainly didn't taste better. I eventually gave up and poured it out on the ground. I felt bad about wasting it, but I just did not like it. I also didn't like the floaty feeling it was giving me. Floaty was a _bad_ feeling. It kept you from concentrating, and I knew from experience that these sorts of conditions were absolutely perfect for pickpockets. I used to play the game, after all.

In fact, I saw someone trying to pickpocket a young girl watching a glassblower work with awe. Once, I would've just ignored it. Now, though, I intervened, snagging their arm and jerking it up to make them drop the coinpurse. "Seriously, if you're going to pickpocket, have some decency and go after a rich person," I scolded, pushing them back. The girl behind me squeaked and gathered up her coins, while the pickpocket glared at me. "She's a little girl with her allowance. You're an asshole stealing from her. On with you." I glared when they began to snap back. "On with you, or I'm dragging you to one of the knights and, believe me, you'll wish I hadn't." The pickpocket glared a while longer before spitting at my feet and fleeing. "Figured."

"Thank you, miss!" the little girl chirped. She smiled brightly at me, beaming. "Mama gave me extra to buy something for our guest, but I wanted to surprise her with the change!"

"I see." I smiled back and, hesitantly, ruffled her hair. She giggled and grinned. "Okay, why don't I escort you home to make sure no others take advantage of you?"

"Really?! Yay!" She took my hand and tugged me into the crowd. "This way, this way!" The little girl dragged me along with a surprising amount of strength that I could only assume was born from sheer enthusiasm, and before long, we were in front of a rather modest house that had seen better days. It likely had seen worst, though, considering the makeshift patches I saw. "Mama! I'm back! This nice lady helped me!"

"Did she now?" The door opened to the smell of apples and cinnamon pie baking, revealing a woman who looked like an older version of the little girl, with some grey hairs in her hair. Though, that grey hair might've just been flour, since she had patches on her apron. "Hello," she greeted, smiling warmly. "Won't you come in? I'm afraid the pie will take a while, but I do have some tea."

"Um… sure," I replied, mostly because I couldn't think of a polite way to refuse. The little girl skipped inside, and disappeared into the back, where I assumed the bedrooms were. The house was big enough for three, perhaps. "She nearly got pickpocketed."

"I worried sending her alone, but she was very insistent on buying our guest a present." The woman laughed and ushered me to the table. "I'll get the kettle on. Are you a native to Altea, or did you come with the army?"

"Both, actually. I grew up in the city, but I fought for its freedom."

"Thank you for that." She set the kettle on the fire and her smile, somehow, warmed even more. Clearly, the girl got her enthusiasm and cheer honest. "Truly. It's a relief to know the worst thing that'll happen to my little girl is that she gets pickpocketed."

"Yeah, I'm sure." I glanced around the house, noticing it really was a simple thing, with flowers and pictures to personalize it. It reminded me of the house I lived in with Grandfather, and before that, whatever house I'd lived in with my mom. "Sadly, there's more battles to be fought."

"I'm sure King Marth will triumph, though. He doesn't fight alone, but with the strength of hundreds and the hopes of thousands."

"That sounds like a line from a song."

"It should. It's one of the new songs being bandied about, according to my husband." She laughed, and began getting mugs out. "Do you have a preference for tea?"

"Ah, no, anything will do." I made a face. "I had some wine earlier and I do not get how people can drink it."

"You probably had a red wine. If you want to try wine, you might try a white." She grinned and set about setting up the tea. "Sorry, my husband sells wine among his wares. He's a merchant."

"White wine. I'll remember that, if I get an urge to drink. Can't say I liked the floaty feeling." The kettle began whistling, and so, she poured the water and set down one of the mugs in front of me. "This is something I always drink after I try a red wine. I can't say I enjoy the taste either. Too dry and bitter."

"Thank you!" I took the mug and blew on the tea to try and get it to cool faster. It smelled amazing, though I had no idea what the scents were. "Oh, right, your daughter mentioned a guest?"

"She'll probably try to drag him out." The woman giggled. Awkwardly, I realized I really should've asked for names, but I didn't want to give mine, and it seemed a little late to ask. "My husband found him injured near one of the forts, back when Altea fell. His wounds were horrendous, and he's an amnesiac on top of it."

"Blow to the head?"

"Among other things. It's a miracle he's alive." She smiled softly, yet sadly. "I think he's a knight, though. I can't think of a reason why he'd be near the eastern fort."

"The eastern fort?" I frowned, trying to think of why that would make my heart suddenly ache. Then I realized something. The fort we'd hidden in that day was to the east. The fort where we had… "Can I see him?"

"Hmm? Ah, well, I don't see why not?" Her smile faded for confusion, but she led me to the back rooms anyway. "He's in our guest room, right here."

My heart thudded hard in my chest as I followed her, barely following the conversation. She pushed open a door, and inside, her daughter was chatting happily with someone. But my attention was fully on that someone, and everything fell away. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. All I could do was focus on familiar blue hair, on a familiar face. It couldn't be him. I saw him… well, I hadn't seen him die-die, but I'd seen him walk to his death. He'd walked right for Gra's main force and the Sable Order. He couldn't be here. All logic dictated that he couldn't.

Yet, I was looking right at Frey, and as soon as my mind put all those pieces together, I collapsed and burst into tears.

There was shouting and some bits of frantic consoling. I tried to explain through my tears, but it was all mangled and I could only say small phrases. Gra. Sable. Knight. Decoy. Saved us. I couldn't string them together into any form of coherency. I couldn't stop crying enough to explain.

A gentle hand wiped away the tears, and a few blinks revealed _Frey_ kneeling in front of me. "I am… guessing you knew me from before my injuries?" he asked softly. His voice was the same. The concern in his eyes was the same. "You do seem familiar, but I cannot place a name."

"I… I never gave it. We just met because of… well, whatever," I finally managed. I gave him the brightest smile I could through the tears. "Do you know your name?"

"No, I don't."

"It's Frey. Your name is Frey. I'm only alive because of you. Marth is only alive because of you." The tears kept on coming, unending, but I didn't care. "I'm so, so happy to see you alive!"

He didn't die. He actually didn't die. He managed to survive. I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it.

* * *

After finally having that tea, and calming down, I returned to the castle and told Marth. As soon as I could find him and drag him from his duties, I blurted it out, though I warned that Frey had no memories and was recovering from injuries. Cain and Abel, however, leapt at the chance to visit and disappeared as soon as Jagan mentioned it should be okay. Marth wanted to go as well but, silly prince, decided to hold back to not overwhelm him. He cried too, though. Gods, we both cried. I couldn't believe the amount of tears. Between the two of us, we probably could've overfilled a bathtub.

"You know, in retrospect, why am I the one going through his father's things?" I half-complained later. When all the tears finally dried up, Marth had to continue making arrangements over who'd tend to the castle and country while we continued fighting Medeus. I, somehow, ended up in a dusty room that might've been Marth's parent's room, shifting through the things left behind. "Oh, right, I needed something to do, and for some reason, this got suggested."

Sighing, I fixed my ponytail and went back to work, hunting through all the baubles. Basically, my job was to see what could be saved and what honestly needed to be thrown away because of mold and the like. Sadly, a lot of the things in the room fell into the latter category. Dust, mold, general disuse… it had stolen everything. Gods, the blankets I more or less had to burn on sight. It was a relief that I was almost done. Someone else could tell Marth how most of his parents' things would have to be burned for health reasons. It likely would be one of the healers, who'd confirm that keeping them would be bad.

Thinking of just how much would burn, I crouched down and pulled a box out from under the bed. It had actually been in a hidden compartment underneath the floorboards, but I'd found it easily. It might've been two years since I'd done a proper theft, but I still had my old talents. It turned out to be a good thing as it was also locked, so I had to pick it. It took a couple of tries, but I cracked the lock and popped open the box. Portraits greeted me. It looked to be hundreds, and thanks to the box, they were perfectly pristine, if smelling like old paper.

I thumbed through the portraits curiously, noticing some were amateurish sketches while others were perfect paintings. They were done in all sorts of things, from pencil to watercolors. There was an emphasis on Queen Liza, Marth, and Elice, so I guessed this was King Cornelius's box. I smiled when I found one of Grandfather, probably done shortly after he retired. Another one had him much younger, laughing with Jagan, based on the purple, spiky armor.

One, however, caught my eye. It was of a woman with blue hair and blue eyes, but it wasn't Elice. I wasn't sure why it held my attention at first, but as I studied it, shock became creeping in. I knew the blue hair, though it was shorter in my memory. I knew the blue eyes, though they were wiser in my memory. I knew the smile, and it was the exact same as my memory. I hadn't seen any of them in years, but I knew them. I knew these features. I knew this woman. This… this was my…

"And you found it." Jagan appeared in the doorway, looking both amused and exasperated. "Of course you did," he sighed, shaking his head. "Why wouldn't you?"

"Hi, Jagan, nice to see you too," I retorted instantly, defaulting to sarcasm. I studied the portrait for a while longer before I looked up at him. "Why… why would King Cornelius have a picture of my mom?"

"Because she was his half-sister." He said the words calmly, soothingly even, but they still felt like bricks to the head. "His father, your grandfather, had an affair and hid it. A daughter was born from the union, and he had her raised as a stable girl, far away from prying eyes. But Cornelius noticed the similarities between her and him and pieced together the truth. When he did, though, his father ordered her to be 'dealt with'. Cornelius fought for her, but in the end, she had to flee for her life. When he became king, Cornelius wanted to try and find her again. But he only entrusted his most trusted knights to it. He only trusted Maclir and me with it."

That made no sense to me. _My_ mom was a royal bastard? What were the chances of that/ "What… what was her name?"

"Alice. Cornelius named his daughter for her." He sat down beside me and tugged me into a one-armed hug. "Maclir kept looking, even after he had to leave due to his injury. One day, surprisingly, he found a lead and chased after it. Sadly, though, he only got there in time to save you. Your house went up in flames, so I don't know anything about your father. Maclir tried to find out, but he came up blank. There was another body in the ruins, though. I guess he died trying to help you and your mother escape."

"I… I see." My hands shook. I dropped the portrait back into the box and shut it to try and hide it. Fear began clawing at me. "Why did she die? Who attacked us?"

"Near as he could find, it was just some small time criminals, and a robbery gone horribly wrong."

"And is my… my relations why Grandfather…"

"It's why he was there, but he took you in because he argued for it. You were traumatized. Throwing you into the palace after that just seemed cruel." Jagan's words were soft and soothing, and relief flooded me. Grandfather loved me and chose to take care of me. That part wasn't a lie. None of it was a lie. I just… didn't know everything. He'd tried to tell me, but I refused to listen. "He half-joked he'd never tell you so that he could keep you. He let Cornelius know how you were doing, though. Cornelius sent extra funds to help Maclir make sure you two had enough."

"I suppose I messed up things by running away after the funeral?"

"A bit, since there had been a tentative plan to bring you into the castle. Cornelius had an open order for me to keep an eye out for you." He laughed softly. "And then I did find you, after you saved Prince Marth's life, and after King Cornelius had passed."

"Whoops?" I tried to laugh, but it was too hollow. All of this just… "What am I supposed to…?" How was I supposed to react? What was I supposed to do? I was a former thief, not some… some princess. "I…"

"Your choice. I haven't said a word. I was debating telling you, truthfully, since you were content. But, well, you're old enough to know." Jagan tightened his hug slightly. "You decide who knows. I won't tell anyone."

"K…" I leaned against him and just closed my eyes. "Today's a long day."

"I'm sure. Why don't you rest a bit?"

"K…"

I ended up just outright passing out, and woke up in my room, tucked in, with a pile of things on the table. A note from Jagan told me they were some of Grandfather's things, thankfully untouched by the mold, as well as a few of King Cornelius's things that related to my mother. He emphasized it was all my choice. That was kind of him, and I appreciated it.

The problem was… was that my head was spinning far too much to even begin to figure out what I wanted.

* * *

Author's note: So, you discover in FE12 that Frey actually survives being the decoy, but he was heavily wounded, nearly died, gained some horrible scars, and had amnesia for quite some time. He eventually recovers and returns to service, but right now, he's still recovering, hence why he doesn't quite recognize Kris. Many have guessed that Kris is actually related to Marth, so yes, she's his cousin. I thought it might be fun and play into why Kris insists on staying in the shadows.

Next Chapter – The Sable Order


	34. Chapter 16) The Sable Order

Chapter 16) The Sable Order

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _With Altea completely free and clear, we march for our next goal, the Fane of Raman. Apparently, Gotoh needs two orbs, the Lightsphere and the Starsphere, and somehow, that will make the magic needed to destroy Gharnef. I wouldn't even pretend to know how that worked. However, the Fane of Raman is located on the island of Chiasmir, just north of Grust, and connected to the mainland by two giant bridges. It provided a natural entrance to Grust, meaning that Grust defended both bridges with everything they had. That meant Sable Order._

 _It was going to be a battle on the big bridge and that always led to one thing: everything choking on the dead. What a lovely way to technically bring Yuliya and Jubelo 'home'. What a lovely way for me to return to Grust for the first time since I ran away._

* * *

Chiasmir had always been the land of the bogeymen when I was growing up. Stories would talk of how fairies would snatch you up and drag you to Chiasmir Isle if you weren't a good little boy or girl and ate all your vegetables. Stories would talk of how the sanctuary was guarded by a war god who burned all trespassers alive, regardless of intent. Of course, in actuality, it was just a small isle with a couple of villages, fishermen, whose families had probably lived here since before Archanea's founding. Fishermen who were probably hiding in terror at the sight of the two armies preparing to rip each other to shreds.

"Been a while since we've seen the Sable Order," I whispered aloud. There was no response, but I didn't expect one. Nyna and Marth were talking a short distance away, and I let them pretend it was private by staying away.

So, I was surprised when Minerva said, "that's right. You've fought them." She walked to my side and looked over the bridge too, where the Grustian flag flapped proudly in the distance over a bunch of soldier. "You, Astram, Midia, and Jeorge all did."

"As well as the other Archaneans." I turned slightly to face her. "We lost, though. Then again, Camus had been there, and Camus had inside information via Horace."

"Right, Horace had to pick between his honor and his people. You forget that seeing him."

"I'll take your word for it." I smiled slightly. "Even if he's gained forgiveness, he is still awkward around Nyna, and I tend to be around her because of the whole 'bodyguard' thing."

"True." Minerva crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as she looked over everything. "Camus isn't here."

"No, he's not." Sirius could be, but not Camus. "Were you worried?"

"A trifle. Camus is known to be a fierce warrior. That's why Medeus didn't kill him for insubordination." Minerva glanced over her shoulder at the soldiers triple checking everything and milling about. "We do have quite a few advantages."

"Our morale is definitely higher." I studied her expression and noticed it was even more stoic than usual. "That's not the only reason you were worried about Camus."

"I imagine it's the same reason why you look like you didn't get much sleep." She smiled slightly. "You did a good job hiding it, but I've seen you enough times."

"Damn, I knew I should've taken more time with the makeup." I grimaced and her smile grew. "But yes, I suppose it is." Yuliya and Jubelo were heartbroken that we were fighting Grust soldiers, and just could not sleep. I'd stayed up with them, of course, trying to reassure them. It had taken me waking Prince Marth up and getting him to promise them he'd end the battle as quickly as possible before they relaxed enough to sleep. "They're with Maria still, yes?"

"Yes, they are. They will deal with the lesser wounded as they've done before. You're guarding the infirmary as usual, yes?"

"Yep, that's the plan." A strange bit of movement by a cloud caught my attention and I looked up to see a pegasus knight with short pink hair flying over us. "Did your brother send reinforcements?"

"To Grust? I doubt it." Minerva looked up as well, and she gasped. "Est!" Her arm shot up and she waved. "Est! There you are!"

"Est?" I watched the pegasus knight waved back and began arcing down towards us. "You know her?"

"She's one of my Whitewings. Palla and Catria's younger sister. I had no idea where she'd been stationed, or anything." Minerva's smile softened as Est landed neatly on the ground and hopped off. "Goodness, what am I going to do with her?"

"Well, she's here now?" I frowned as I noticed her glance around, and went to Nyna, carrying a sword. "The hell is that?"

"I don't know. Est is _terrible_ at swords." Minerva shrugged. "Let's listen in."

"Sounds good to me."

"Greetings, Prince Marth, Princess Nyna!" Est said cheerfully. Both Prince Marth and Nyna had their 'royal masks' on, but I could see Nyna was already faltering in the face of such cheer. "My name is Est, of the Whitewings. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"The pleasure is ours," Prince Marth replied. He shared a look with Nyna, and Nyna subtly shrugged. "I must admit; I did not think more would join us until we reached Macedon."

"I meant to join sooner, but… well…" Est held out the sword and popped it out of the sheathe a little to showcase a silver blade with strangely waved edges set in a gold hilt. But there was a strange aura to it, like it was there and not there. "I heard Grust had this, and so, I prioritized taking it back." Est knelt and presented the sword to Nyna. "The sword Mercurius for you, Princess Nyna. I understand it is one of your Regalia."

"It is," Nyna murmured. I caught signs of her trying to hide her surprise, and I couldn't blame her. We knew Camus had Gradivus, and Jeorge wielded Parthia, but there hadn't been any word of where Mercurius had disappeared to. I wondered why Grust, of all places, had it. "Thank you. It must've been difficult."

"No, not really," Est reassured. She smiled brightly. "I'm not the fastest or the strongest, that's Catria and Palla, but I win at hide and seek!"

"Pardon?"

"Est lacks combat experience and skill in comparison to my other Whitewings," Minvera explained. Both she and I pretended we just walked up and caught the last bit. I winked at Nyna, though, and she smiled back slightly. "However, she's perhaps the best of all my soldiers at being a scout and spy. Her pegasus flies unnaturally quiet, and when she's not giggling, she's remarkably quiet as well. Of course, you'll only see that when she's on a job."

"Hiya, Commander!" Est chirped. She saluted, though, and there was great amount of respect in her eyes. "I've returned for duty!"

"I'm pleased to have my best scout back. Now someone else can suffer Palla's mothering."

"Oh, fudge." Est made a face. "Maaaybe we should-"

"Come on. Now."

"Yes, ma'am."

With some brief bits of polite conversation, Minerva deftly led Est away, and Prince Marth ducked back to discuss the current battle plan with Hardin. Nyna lingered behind, studying Mercurius. I remained with her, returning my attention to the Grustian soldiers in the distance. I wondered if I knew them. Not by name, of course. I had been too much of a brat for that. But by face… there were probably many I knew. And many of them would die. Promise or not, I knew it would take quite some time for Prince Marth to convince any to surrender. They had their pride.

"Here," Nyna whispered. She held Mercurius out to me. "You should take it."

"I'm flattered, Nyna, but I'm not sure we want to put the fancy sword in the hands of someone who, by agreement of everyone, rarely goes out on missions," I replied instantly. I smiled at her, and she smiled back sheepishly. "The Regalia need to be used in battle. Jeorge has Parthia. Let Astram have Mercurius."

"True, it would suit him better." She closed her eyes and nodded, tucking it against her chest again. "Yes, we'll do that. I'll give it to him after this battle." She briefly put on her 'princess mask' before shrugging and letting it fall to lean against me. "The Sable Order… I must admit; I hoped Camus would be here."

"Mmm, I've a feeling we'll have to go deep into Grust before we see him." I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Have faith, Nyna. I made you a promise."

"I worry he will make you break it."

"Never." I tightened my hug on her. "We'll figure this out."

"…All right." She smiled up at me, the smile of someone who desperately wanted to believe. I wasn't offended. It was a promise conditional on many things, but I'd do it. "We should get this to Astram."

"He's sparring with Horace. This way."

* * *

We had to move the infirmary back. Not because of the army had been pushed back or anything, but the sheer amount of blood and bodies falling into the strait completely tainted the water to the point that we couldn't filter and boil it all out.

"You can almost make a second bridge from the bodies," I noted peering at the water. Thanks to the limited space, and our heavily armored frontline, I actually didn't have much to do. "Floating like that… I half want to check."

"Times like this remind me that you can be morbid as all hell," Astram grumbled. A bad injury from protecting Linde from three snipers had landed him back here, and he opted to be 'reassigned' to make things easier. He fidgeted and paced, clearly not liking to stay in one place, but he didn't try to return. It was too much of a crush to safely try. "Besides, wouldn't you sink?"

"Not if there are enough bodies. It'll be like a raft. One that smells horrible due to rot and shit."

"Once again, I somehow forgot that sometimes, you can be morbid as all hell."

"Sorry?" I shrugged, unbothered, and gasped as I saw Catria, Palla, and Est once again coordinate for a devastating attack that ripped through two enemies and threw their bodies into the water. "Gods, that has to be the tenth time I've seen Minerva's Whitewings pull that this battle, but there's…"

"It's complicated and in most circumstances, it's impractical, but when you're surrounded like this, it shows its skill in clearing the field." Astram kept his voice even, but his eyes sparkled. "That sort of coordination requires a lot of trust and a lot of practice. I can see why Princess Minerva only now gave permission for them to use it. What's the name of the technique?"

"Triangle attack." Which, admittedly, seemed like an odd name to me, but I wasn't going to judge. Except for the whole 'naming moves' things, maybe. "So…" A flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, but when I looked, I saw nothing. I was inclined to be wary, but ignore it, except Astram had also tensed. "Not just me?"

"Nope." Astram sighed. "I'll go check."

"With that giant hole in your side?" I made my voice as dry as possible. "Really?"

"It's probably just an animal."

"And Midia's reaction when she learns you did this and, let's be real, she _will_ learn?" I waited for a response, but he only grimaced. We both knew Midia would lecture him to hell and back. "Yes, I know. I'm the worst for bringing her in, but seriously, the last thing we all need is listening to Midia yell at you."

"You're the one always getting hurt when you go off on your own."

"Yes, but better that than you undoing Nyna's hard work." This really was the meanest, using both Midia and Nyna against him, but the hole in his side was huge. A lot of his skin had to be cut away before we could remove the arrow, meaning he had a hole larger than my fist. In his side. In his _right_ side at that, his dominant hand. "Be right back."

"I haven't agreed to this!" He also didn't stop me as I walked away. "If you get hurt, I'm telling Midia."

"And never was there a greater threat." I waved at him over my shoulder and skirted the edges of the strait, hunting for whatever I'd seen. I ended up going father than I originally thought I would, and when I was out of sight of the infirmary, I decided I should probably return. That was when the lance nearly skewered me.

Thankfully, though, I'd seen the weapon, and so, I managed to parry it, using a trick Hardin taught me. My attacker recovered quickly, but I managed to duck under and swing my sword towards their stomach, intending on eviscerating them. I stopped the blade just in time as I saw Cam… no, Sirius. This was Sirius, in Camus's clothes. Again.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised to see you," I said lightly. My sword was still just a twitch away from biting into his abdomen, but I thought it fair. He had his lance positioned where he could use it as a lever to crush my throat. "Except, of course, how you're across the battlefield?"

"It's simple. I was on this side to begin with," Sirus sighed and stepped away, bringing his lance down. I did the same with my sword. "Rather awkward, that."

"You had to know we were coming."

"You made better time than we thought. Whoever is running the counter-spies is doing fantastically. Then again, we don't have that many spies on our side."

"Really?"

"Yeah, there's no real need for it." He shrugged. "We know where you guys are going. Gharnef has a trap set up in the shrine here for you lot, don't know what, so we know you'll head to Grust next. From there, you'll have to march through Macedon in order to reach Dolhr. Somewhere along the way, you'll deal with Gharnef, but since Macedon has Gotoh, I'm sure Gotoh will take care of it."

"How did Gharnef know…?" I closed my eyes, putting the pieces together myself. "No, he _has_ to know his own weakness. He'd try to prevent us from getting the materials to make it."

"Pretty much. And it'll be stupid to march on Macedon with Grust and the Sable Order on your back. _And_ Macedon is your only path to Dolhr, and you'll need Gotoh for this mythical weakness."

"I'm not sure if this is cleverness or an exceptional grasp of common sense."

"You'll be surprised how many times those overlap." He shrugged again. "Anyway, sorry to startle you. I had just gotten close to see if I would have to finish my little raft to get across or not."

"Raft?"

"I've been building a quick little thing." He nodded towards the edge of the water, and I barely saw a raft among the reeds. "Won't hold up for long, but long enough for me to get across. In theory."

"In theory?"

"Well, all the bodies falling in messes up the water's natural wave pattern."

"I will definitely just take your word for that?" I had no idea what he was talking about, but the shine in his eyes hinted that if I didn't change the topic, I'd learn far more than I wanted to. "You're not bad with a spear, huh?"

"Hmm? Oh, right, yeah." Sirius glanced down at his lance with a grimace. "Camus insisted growing up. At the time, it had been for 'exercise' and 'training', and now I can't drop the habit. Lovely thing nowadays."

"I imagine it would be harder for you to play double with Camus if you weren't as skilled."

"'Almost'. Almost as skilled. He threw his whole self into training and being a knight. I just wanted to be a fisherman, and it shows. I'm only as good as I am because Camus dragged me along." He grimaced. "Everyone always talks of how kind and courteous he is, which is true, but I think they forget that he's _incredibly stubborn_."

"Wow, I never noticed." I made my voice as dry as possible and he laughed. "So speaking of Camus…"

"Yes?"

"He still loves Nyna, doesn't he?"

"Oh, did I not make that obvious last time?" He sighed heavily, facepalming. "Yep, he does. Which I would normally be happy about, but this war makes everything complicated, and that aforementioned stubbornness makes it even worse." He scoffed, letting his hand fall to his side again. "Guilt complexes are so much fun to watch. Not."

"And he still risked getting captured, or worse, to get us a weapon and to make sure Nyna and I were safe." I could almost scream. He was just so infuriating, but even worse, the whole 'giving everything to protect the ones you love thing'? That was a flaw of mine too. Gods, this was… "Will you see him soon?"

"Providing a certain mercenary turned bodyguard doesn't gut me, yes."

"Hey, I didn't!" I tried to smile, but it faltered, so instead I simply let fall for a serious look. "Can you pass him a message for me?"

"Always. Last time, it finally made him smile."

"Well, tell him that Nyna and I are still doing fine, and inform him that I'm keeping my promise." I smirked when he frowned. "He'll know what I'm talking about. But you'll have to think of how to hide."

"Oh, gods, I've already had it planned out." He grinned, eyes sparkling. He had a good idea now just what I meant, and he was all for it. That made me feel loads better. "I've always wanted to go sailing, you see. If Camus hadn't gotten caught so soon, I would've long crossed the sea."

"To Valentia?"

"Yep! Should be fascinating to visit." He glanced at the water, nodding. "The waves have calmed. I should get to my rafting."

"While I should get back to my guarding." I relaxed slightly, smiling. "Thanks for passing on the message."

"Please don't die to whatever trap Gharnef set. I really want to see how you plan on triumphing over my twin's stubborn ass."

I simply waved and left, returning to the infirmary to find a nervy Astram. I lied and said it was just an animal, one cute enough to make me try to catch it to make the kids smile. Thankfully, my normal fussing made it completely believable, and thus I only got a small lecture on 'messing with wild animals'.

I really did have to plan, though. Whether or not I could keep my promise… the time to prove that was coming soon.

* * *

The battle wrapped up before long, but then we had the long task of bundling up the bodies and 'hiding' them for burial before Yuliya and Jubelo saw how many of their countrymen we had to kill before Prince Marth could force a surrender. I thought it was a kind gesture, but pointless. They were young, not stupid. Besides, it took a few good hours for the blood to finally wash away from the strait. Leaving them for that long made it obvious how badly things had gone.

"So, it's going to be a small group, yes?" I asked Nyna as I tucked Yuliya and Jubelo into bed. They were both fast asleep, exhausted from helping Maria, and exhausted from the knowledge that their protectors, the people who saved them, were killing their countrymen. All because Grust sided with Dolhr. It was sad that they learned so easily that there was no fully 'good side' or 'bad side' with war. "Is it because of the possibility of a trap?"

"Yeah, it seems the locals were quite adamant about it," Linde answered, folding clothes. She wasn't part of the 'small group' at her own insistence, and so, took over what should've been Kris's chores for the day. "Xane is, though. He insisted on Bantu."

"Strange." Though maybe not. Gotoh had sent us to the Fane, so Xane and Bantu probably knew a lot more about it than anyone else in the army. "You sure you don't want to go?"

"I'm good. Merric is going as a healer, and Kris can handle the magic part." She grinned, and it was some mix of pride and envy. She was slowly working through her inferiority complex. Slowly. "I figured I'd stay here in case our group was ambushed, and because I'm better at laundry than Merric."

"That's true." Merric was so horrible at it that he was permanently barred from any chore involving laundry. "Oh, right, you said you wanted to talk to me about something."

"Hmm? Oh, right!" She folded up a shirt and then turned to face me. I focused on tucking Yuliya and Jubelo's stuffed animals into their arms. "Hey, Kris has been off since we left Altea."

"Has she?" I fixed the blanket over Yuliya and Jubelo, and thought a bit on the few interactions I'd had. Kris had kept herself unusually busy these past few days, and, in retrospect, she had a distracted air to her, I supposed. "I can see that. Why bring it up?"

"Because?" She gave me the most pleading look I'd ever seen. That look alone told me exactly what she wanted. "Please?"

"You want me to talk to her."

"Pretty please?"

"I… oh, fine." I sighed, barely resisting the urge to facepalm. I wondered why she thought I could do anything. "Watch these two for me. I don't want them alone for the next couple of days, given today."

"K~!" She beamed at me. "Thank you!"

"Yes, yes." I fussed over the blanket one more time before leaving and heading for the courtyard of the fortress. That's where the group heading to the Fane was finishing their preparations. I caught sight of Hardin and Nyna were wishing Marth well, since both would stay behind in case Grust tried to attack, before focusing on another bit of blue hair. I found Kris on the edges of the group, staring into space. Everyone was too busy to really notice, but since I'd been actively hunting for her… well, it was obvious.

She came back to herself when I walked up, though. "Oh, hey, Diana," she greeted. She fidgeted with her gloves, made exclusively for her by Caeda. "I thought you'd just be inside."

"That was the plan, but Linde asked for me to come talk to you," I explained. I crossed my arms and studied her face. "Not sure why she thought I was the one for it, but she's right. You are acting off."

"It's fine. I'm just tired."

"And is that tiredness going to interfere on the battlefield?" I waited for a response, but she hesitated. "If it is…"

"No, I don't think so. It's not a physical tiredness, so much as a 'my mind is going in circles' tiredness." She shrugged, smiling helplessly down at me. "That's all. I can focus most times. Just when I'm on my own."

"I see." I debated pushing, but something told me that would be a bad thing. "Spiraling thoughts, huh? Well, I do have a suggestion for that."

"You do?"

"Yes." I reached up and patted her shoulder. "I don't know what happened in Altea, but, well, maybe for a while you should just focus on one thing."

"And that is?"

"Who you want to be." I locked eyes with her, and her own widened. "Decide who you want to be and hold onto it. That's what I've finally learned. I think."

"I…" Her voice became hesitant, quite. "I want…" But she bit her lip and clearly began thinking deeply on it. "I want to be Kris, the former thief, the… the mage knight." With each word, a little more light came into her eyes and her posture became straighter. "The… the right hand of my idiotic silly prince, Marth."

"Then hold onto that." I nudged her towards the others, noticing Hardin and Nyna had stepped away from Marth. "Looks like you're leaving. When you get back, give Linde a hug. She was worried."

"I will." She smiled, and there was quite a bit of relief to it. There was still some distraction, some bit of tiredness, but now, she wasn't drowning. "Thanks."

"Luck." I waved her off, and ended up lingering to see the rest leave. But I lingered as the courtyard cleared, almost laughing to myself. "Focus on who you want to be. I should take my own damn advice." Who did I want to be? I closed my eyes and had my answer in an instance.

I wanted to be Diana, bodyguard to Nyna. I wanted to be her confidant, and her friend. I wanted to be the same for Camus. I wanted to support Yuliya and Jubelo. I wanted to support Jeorge, Midia, Astram. I wanted to be the reliable one for my slowly growing group of friends. I wanted to help them as they'd helped me, especially through all this madness.

Of course, that all meant I had to fix my own messed up self first, but it was a goal. I could deal. And the first step… was going to be either dealing with Camus and figuring out my feelings for Jeorge. One of the two. Probably the former because that was going to be _way easier_.

* * *

 _Notes on Palla:_

 _One of the captains of the Whitewings, and Minerva's right hand. She's the elder sister of Catria and Est, and is very motherly towards most people._

 _A strong fighter in her own right, though there are some times when she appears slower than, say, her sister. That said, though, she's still an invaluable flier and actually trains both Catria and Caeda._

 _Ever since Abel helped save her pegasus, she seems inclined to spend a lot of time with him. Perhaps she's developing a crush._

 _Notes on Catria:_

 _One of the Whitewing Captains, she tends to act as a peacekeeper, likely from years of practice being the 'middle child'. Quiet, but passionate._

 _Though less experienced that her older sister, she arguable has more potential, likely because Palla trains her._

 _She tries to hide it, but every once in a while, you can catch her gazing longingly and Prince Marth. Sadly, though, her feelings are so obviously unrequited that you just have to feel bad for her._

 _Notes on Arran:_

 _A knight of Altea, apparently, who had been ordered back home due to illness prior to Altea's fall. He's been subtly protecting the citizens as much as possible ever since._

 _He's… average. That's really the best to be said. He's not bad, but compared to say, Cain and Abel, he's not great either. Still, another trained unit isn't a bad thing._

 _He's quiet and standoffish, really speaking only to Jagan. He claims to be better, but Lena is almost certain he's still ill._

 _Notes on Samson:_

 _A mercenary-gladiator who fell in with Altea after the war. He used his winnings from the arena to help the citizens._

 _Better suited for one on one combat than crazy battle-war. Still, he's not bad._

 _Also quiet, but gets along fairly well with Ogma and Navarre, surprisingly, possibly due to putting his morals above pay. Talks of going to Gra after this, though, not liking he stayed in one place too long._

 _Notes on Xane:_

 _Once a manakete, now something even he doesn't know. A playful prankster who hides his very real anger and annoyance behind a smiling mask. Perhaps why some of his pranks are mean-spirited and/or testing us._

 _He has the most varied and unique way of fighting, simply because he can mimic anyone, taking on their appearance and ability. Typically, he's kept as a guard for the 'second' infirmary with Yuliya, Jubelo, and Maria, simply because they need that sort of varied guard more. And he seems to like children, even if he doesn't like humans._

 _Ordered by Gotoh to join us to watch and help, and so, he does. Apparently, he has undying loyalty to Gotoh. He does seem to be warming up to some of us, though._

* * *

Author's notes: Est joins this chapter, at an insanely low level, with the 'super sword' of the game, Mercurius. In the very first game, it was locked to only Marth, but from FE3 on, any sword user could use it. With Est's join, you also get access to the triangle attack, a series staple where you surround an enemy with three specific characters (typically pegasus knights) to deal auto-crits.

Next Chapter – Manakete Princess


	35. Chapter 17) Manakete Princess

Chapter 17) Manakete Princess

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _Grust did its best to halt us, but we managed to push through anyway. Now, with the rest of our army preparing, a small group of us run for the Fane of Raman. We expect a trap, but we have no choice. Without the lightsphere and starsphere, we cannot kill Gharnef. So, we push on, ready, or so we hope._

 _I hope the trap isn't 'rocks fall, everyone dies' because gods, that would be a shitty way to die._

* * *

It had been a long time since I traveled with a group so small, or so it felt. Marth, Caeda, Merric, Julian, Cain, Abel, Bantu, Xane, and me… that was it. It felt like a lot when listed out, but when you were used to hundreds, thousands, of people marching towards one goal… it was small.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Caeda asked me. For the first time in a while, I was flying with her instead of walking on my own two feet or riding with Cain. "Marth's been fretting."

"Yeah, everything is fine," I replied. I tightened my hold on her slightly, to make it less of 'holding on for dear life' and more of a hug, and rested my face against her back. "I'm just thinking through something. I'll talk to him about it soon."

"Do you need help sorting through your thoughts?"

"Mmm… no, actually. Diana gave me a good bit of advice." It amused me, really, that Linde had asked her to talk to me. I hadn't realized Linde had been worried in the first place. "I would've thought her too busy taking care of her charges to talk, but apparently not."

"Okay, if you're certain…"

"If my thoughts start knotting up again, I will come to you. Promise."

"Okay." She didn't sound quite like she agreed, but at least she understood. "So, how are things with Cain~?"

"Oh, come on!" I groaned, thanking everything that her armor and the need to actually look forward kept her from noticing my blush. "Really?"

"I am getting revenge!" She laughed evilly, and it was a surprisingly good one. "Revenge!"

"Ugh…" I sighed, and resting my head against her again. "Nothing."

"Hmm?"

"You asked how things were going. That's the answer. Nothing." With everything going on, including my personal issue of 'holy hell, I am technically royalty' and the whole 'march on Grust' thing, Cain and I hadn't really talked much. "There's too much else to focus on. The war is really starting to build and Cain's either training or in meetings constantly."

"And you had the perfect excuse to spend time with him, namely riding with him, and you didn't take it?"

"Well, the two of us could try to figure out personal issues, or we could focus on the very important mission we're on. Knowing both Cain and me, it would be the latter, and we wouldn't say a word." So, we'd just be sitting there, awkwardly, not addressing the problem because things were far too serious. The end of this war was in sight. "It's not like with you and Marth, where you've been flirting for two, two and a half years."

"We have not been flirting that long!"

"I recall a certain festival on Talys where-"

"He doesn't know about that!"

"And there was the constant gifts, including the diadem he keeps on al-"

"Don't make more of that than it is!" She huffed, and glared at me over her shoulder. "Wait, how did we switch from teasing you to teasing me?"

"You are _way_ easier to tease." I smiled innocently and she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what else was…?" I trailed off as I caught sight of ruins, strangely intact considering how old they supposedly were. Actually, it stood out as almost unnatural how good of condition it was in. "Think that's it?"

"Hmm?" She looked down, and her playful annoyance disappeared for seriousness again. "Yes, it must be. We should land."

"There's an open area a bit to our right, it looks like. It's right by the trees."

"Thanks."

Caeda landed and we both dismounted and waited for the others to catch up while prepping our weapons and checking our armor, just in case. When they did, we all agreed to tie the mounts up somewhere away from the entrance, to make sure we had an easy escape route if it came down to it. Then, after checking on everything one more time, we walked inside the Fane of Raman.

Gold. Gold was the first thing I noticed. Golden scales and golden eyes sparkled in front of a molding throne in the back, and wings stretched out almost like a bird's, with feather like growths extending from it, if they weren't outright feathers. Distantly, I realized that I was looking at a dragon, but it looked softer, gentler, than the fire dragons and the mage dragon. But it was also majestic, its very being inspiring awe. Of course, no amount of awe changed the fact that the dragon was trying to kill us, but hey, at least it looked good doing it?

All of us dove to the sides, barely avoiding the blast of white-blue… at first, I thought it fire, but then I realized it was just light. It was just light, but the stone floor cracked as it washed over it. The remnants of a cape nearly made my heart stop, but then I saw Marth on the other side of the entrance way than me, his normal cape ripped off as Caeda held him protectively in her arms. I almost ran towards them, but another blast of white-blue light stopped me, and so, instead, I ran for a pillar to hide behind and only then decide to try and assess the situation.

"What sort of dragon is _that_?" I asked, breathing heavily. Already, our group was scattered. Somehow, I ended up with Bantu and Xane. "Holy…"

"Well, 'holy' is pretty close?" Xane joked. He frowned as he peered around the pillar we were huddled behind and jerked back as another blast of white-blue light whipped past. "Divine dragon."

"Pardon?"

"That's the kind of dragon. Divine." He gave Bantu a dirty look. "This is why we don't let her leave, you know!"

"All you are teaching her is to fear herself and the world," Bantu immediately retorted. He even glowered, which surprised me. "She is too young to understand."

"And now looks what we're dealing with!" Xane snapped. He groaned, facepalming. "Ugh… Naga would kill us if she was alive."

"Naga only sealed her away because she was dying."

"And because she could destroy everything. Which Gharnef is trying-"

"No, Gharnef wouldn't. He wouldn't risk losing control of a potential weapon."

"Can you two argue _after_ we've dealt with the dragon trying to eat us?" I deadpanned, unable to help it. Both jumped at my word, showing they'd forgotten I was here. "I would like to get out of here without almost losing _another_ arm, thank you very much!" I held up my scarred arm for emphasis. "And, you know, with minimal deaths!"

"Well, there are some pillars, and thankfully, she's young, so she actually doesn't know much about how to fight," Xane replied. He peered out again, and nodded. "Bantu, you figure out something." His appearance blurred, and then he looked like Marth, though Marth never wore such a cheerful smile. "Decoy time!"

"Wait, what?!" I tried to snag him when he ran out, but didn't make it in time. "Xane!"

"He will be fine," Bantu whispered. He rested a reassuring hand on my back. "He knows how to fight divine dragons. He was once one, long ago. By playing decoy, he can reach the others and come up with a plan to distract her."

"He could also die," I snapped. Still, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew there was nothing I could do at this point. "Well, he said for you to figure out something."

"I need to reach her."

"So, I need to sneak you around? Okay, then." I pinched the bridge of my nose, hating everything. "We should've brought Lena. We should've brought her warp staff."

"Sadly, hindsight is perfect, but foresight is nothing more than a guess."

"Right, of course." I stiffened when I saw movement, and saw Cain and Abel lunge forward shields up, right as the dragon tried to attack again. To my surprise, the shields buckled, but _deflected_ the breath enough for the others to dart forward to another, more secure, pillar. Cain and Abel's gauntlets, though, also cracked, and blood splattered the stone tiles as they ducked behind a different pillar. The blood was soon vaporized by another wave of white-blue light.

"Child, we must move. They cannot last long."

"Right." I turned away, biting my lip hard enough to bleed. I was deathly worried, but the only way I could help right now was… "Follow me."

I kept to the shadows, holding onto Bantu's hand. He was much slower than me, so we had to move very, very slowly. It grated on my nerves, but I made myself fall into the mindset of 'working the roofs'. You had to move slow when you were walking along the roofs of houses, because one misstep led to either capture or death. You had to keep to the shadows and pick the timing carefully. It was just the same here, and I let that mindset keep me calm. I let looking for shadows and safe places to hide distract me from the others. They would be fine. I had my own job.

It was amazing, the power radiating off this dragon. It almost hurt to breathe as I got close. But it wasn't _impossible_ , and so, I got Bantu right next to the dragon and brought up my weapons, waiting for the next move. But, to my surprise, Bantu simply walked right up to the thing, perfectly calm and unafraid. "Tiki?" he called, resting his hand on the dragon's scales. The dragon growled, blue light-flames flickering around their teeth. "Ah, I see. Gharnef has you under a mind-control spell. Easy, easy." Flames blossomed on his fingertips and he whispered something in a language I couldn't understand, but felt _old_. Each word was like a thud on the chest and I almost had to check to make sure someone wasn't punching me. "Peace. Awaken."

The dragon shook its head a few times and blinked slowly, looking around in what almost looked like confusion. A light surrounded its form and it shrank down to a tiny girl, who looked maybe around ten years old at most, with long green hair in a ponytail, a strange headdress-crown, and pointed ears. She yawned, and rubbed at her eye, still looking around in confusion.

But, finally, she looked up at Bantu and smiled. "Oh, there you are, Ban-Ban," she whispered. She yawned again and walked over to hug him. "Where have you been? I had an awful nightmare…"

"I've been looking for you, dear child," Bantu replied. He patted her head and smiled gently at her. "I'm sorry for letting us be separated. But things will be better now."

"Promise?" She sulked. "You have to promise, Ban-Ban. I hate being alone."

"Of course, child. Of course."

"Um…" I began, not quite knowing what to do. Tiki immediately hid behind Bantu as he turned to face me. "This is…?"

"Ah, yes," he murmured, nodding. "This is Tiki, princess of the Divine Dragons, daughter of Naga." He nudged Tiki forward when she smiled shyly at me. "Go on."

"Um… hello," she whispered. She stepped out and bowed to me. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too?" I replied, still not sure what to do. A horrible thought of 'were the other dragons little kids' crept into my head, but I threw it to the side, mostly because I didn't want to deal with that. "What were you doing here?"

"Playing." She frowned. "Then someone said 'make sure the bad people stay out' and then I was here."

"Is everything okay?" Marth walked up then, not even wearing the tattered remains of his cape. He had a few scrapes, and his arm was bandaged, with blood seeping through, but on the whole, he looked okay. "It… looks like it," he continued, looking around curiously. I glanced behind him to see the others tending to their injuries, and then looked around to make sure there were no other traps. Xane, back in his normal form, caught my eye and winked, so I assumed that this was the extent. "This little girl is…?"

"She's the dragon that almost killed us, pretty boy," I answered quietly. This was too much for me. This was a little too much for me. "A little girl almost erased us from existence. Her name is Tiki."

"Really?" He looked back at Tiki, who was back to yawning and sleepily rubbing her eyes, while Bantu fussed over her. "What the…?"

"Yeah. I think that was the trap. We had a powerful dragon blocking us, and then our morale would be shaken if we killed it because, look, cute little girl." I was so done today. We had a long battle with the Grustian soldiers, and then we had this. No. I was done. "So, anyway, how is everyone and…?"

"Hello!" Tiki jumped over to Marth, peering up at him curiously. "Ban-Ban says you're nice," she declared. Marth and I exchanged 'dear gods, help me' looks. It had been a long day, and the whole 'little girl nearly killed us and if we didn't have Bantu, we would've had to kill a little girl' thing was… yeah… "I'm Tiki!"

"My name is Marth," Marth replied automatically. He glanced back, and I thought he might've been looking for Caeda, but Caeda was helping bandage up Cain's arm. Abel's was being bandaged by Xane. I didn't see Julian, but I did see a side door open, so I hoped he was just there. Marth wasn't upset enough for someone to be badly hurt, or dead. "It's very nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too!" She smiled sweetly. "Hey, can I come with you? Please?"

"I… sure? If you want?"

"Yay!" She laughed and hugged him. "Thank you, Mar-Mar!"

"Mar-Mar?!"

That was about the point I decided that I couldn't handle anymore whiplash and thus, I left Marth to get teased by Tiki. Instead, I went to help Julian hunt for the orbs, and it was a good thing, since there were a lot of chests. It took quite a few lockpicks between us to get them all open, both because of how many there were and how complex the locks were, but it was worth it. Raiding old vaults yielded nice hauls, clearly.

"Tome, weapon, money," Julian listed off, setting them to the side as he pulled them out. We were both set up in a side room, sorting through everything. "Tome, weapon, money. Money, weapon, tome. Weapon, money, tome."

"Why would the dragons have so many weapons, tomes, and gold?" I asked, not bothering with 'sorting', so much as 'shifting'. I grinned triumphantly as I pulled out a white orb. "Sphere!"

"Sphere! One down!" Julian took it from me and set it carefully to the side. When it started to roll, he snatched it back up and took off his cloak, pooling it into a pile before setting it down again. "This chest has… oh, look, more money."

"Why so much money?" Finished with that pile, I moved to the next. "Why?"

"Let's think of it as war reparations?"

"Yeah, sure." I laughed as I found another gem, but it faltered when I saw it. "Green."

"Hmm?"

"I found another sphere, but it's green." When you thought of 'lightsphere' or 'starsphere', you didn't really think of the color _green_. "Well, it could still be it. Here." I passed it over to him and continued hunting. Before long, though, I found a third sphere, a sparkling blue one. "Another one."

"There's three?!"

"Apparently." I sighed and sat back, studying it. "Still, if I had to guess, I'd say this is a starry sphere. It's got sparklies."

"I wonder how much these would sell for."

"That's…" I almost wanted to scold, but as I set it down with the other two, I had to wonder too. "Hmm… they're good quality gems, and you could pass them off as some fancy cut shit, so…"

"Let's get them out before our thieving nature overrides our common sense!" Julian laughed and, after a moment, I laughed too. "Here, I'll present these to Prince Marth."

"Sounds good to me." I sat down and leaned against the wall. It was blessedly cool. "Ugh…"

"Today's been way too long. I'm not even surprised by anything." He scooped up the gems and walked out, calling out to the others that he and I had been successful.

I closed my eyes and half-thought about going to sleep. I might have except just seconds after Julian left someone poked my cheek. I opened my eyes to see it was Tiki, looking at me curiously. "Do you need something?" I asked, doing my best to be polite. She was just a little kid, after all. She was only about Maria's age. "I was resting."

"I'm sorry," she replied. She crouched next to me, still eyeing my curiously. "Nickname… nickname… Krissy?"

"Pardon?" I gave her a weird look before realizing something. "Wait, you want to give me a nickname?"

"Yes!" She smiled warmly. "Please?"

"I… er… well…" I had no idea how to deal with children. I really didn't. I wasn't Diana. I wished we had dragged her with us. "Sure, you can, but not Krissy." I desperately tried to think of something, and decided to go with something I knew no one else would say. "What about Tina?"

"Tina?" She frowned in confusion. "How does one get 'Tina' from 'Kris'?"

"Well, Kris is actually already a nickname, Tiki. My full name is 'Kristina'."

"Ooohhh, so 'Tina' from 'Kristina'." She smiled again, eyes lighting up. "And I can call you that? Just me?"

"Just you."

"Yay!" She laughed, hugging me. "Thank you, Tina!"

Oh, gods, what were we getting ourselves into?

* * *

Thank everything holy that when we returned with another kid, everyone's reaction was simply 'grab Diana' and, even better, Diana's reaction to her was simply to help take care of her, same as Yuliya and Jubelo. Not even the whole 'hey, she transforms into a dragon' thing threw her off. She did recruit Bantu, Minerva, and Caeda to assist, but honestly, it was such a relief.

"She's so adorable that I think I might throw up," I deadpanned hours later. The sun was finally setting, and Marth and I were watching it from the roof of the fort, taking a much needed break. "Sorry, that was probably a bit much."

"I think it's because she's the most cheerful one of the entire army," Marth laughed. He rested his arms against the outer wall of the roof, or whatever it was actually called. "Not even Maria is quite so cheerful."

"True. We're a rather dour bunch in comparison." We had our bits of laughter and everything, but… "Ugh… I'll feel better about her in the morning. I'm too tired."

"You're not good with children, are you?"

"On the streets, everyone was a rival, even little kids." I also wasn't used to someone who thought the world was just plain awesome. "I'll get used to her. Something tells me she's going to attach herself to me."

"Nickname?"

"Nickname."

"Ah, well." He laughed, and relaxed a little. His smile faded as he looked out to the horizon, past the bridge. Grust was well within sight. "We'll be marching on Grust soon. Invading soon."

"We are."

"Nyna said she wants to tell me something as we march. I wonder what."

"She does?" I thought for a bit and then wondered if Nyna was going to tell Marth about Camus. "Hmm… I think I know what it is."

"You do?"

"Diana and I talk, sometimes, and I kind of got dragged into things by accident." I smiled at him. "If it's what I think it is, then her telling you is a great show of trust."

"Ah, then I shall definitely wait patiently. But speaking of patient, you've been off a bit." He smiled kindly at me. "Are you up for talking about it? Is it Cain?"

"How do _you_ even know about that?!" I groaned and he laughed. "Anyway, no, it's not, and if you try to tease, I will retaliate, and I have way more ammunition."

"Fine, fine, but do you want to tell or would you like to keep quiet a while longer?"

"Well…" I hesitated. Speaking it aloud would make it all real. But running away wasn't going to solve anything. "Jagan… he told me a bit about my mother, back in Altea." I took a deep breath and looked at him. "She was your father's half-sibling. We're cousins."

"…We're what?"

"Yeah, I know. That was my reaction too." Somehow, the fact that he was just as stunned made me feel a thousand times better. "So, that's what's been bugging me."

"I… yeah, that'll… that'll do it." He stared at me for a moment longer before laughing. "That is… it sounds like a tale!"

"The only thing that would make it more of a tale is if I was the heir or that I wielded the special weapon!" I began laughing too. It really was ridiculous. "Ah, I feel better."

"I'm glad, because I'm in shock!" Still, he continued to laugh. "So, what do you want to do about it?"

"Well, I know I don't want to have anything officially acknowledged. I don't want to be a princess. I want to be the mage knight, the former thief." I looked up at the sky, smiling as I latched onto 'who I wanted to be'. Once I focused on that, I felt like I wasn't flailing. I wasn't drowning. I had my anchor. I was still lost, but I could find my way. "I want to be your knight, your right hand, your confidant. And I could be all those things, and a princess I suppose, but…"

"I get it." He smiled at me, eyes sparkling. "Okay. Then we'll keep this between us for now, and quietly tell those we both trust. We won't announce it ever. It might become an open secret, in time, but that's okay, isn't it?"

"…Yeah. It is." I grinned at him. "But now you're _really_ stuck with me, pretty boy!"

"I think it's more accurate to say you're stuck with _me_!" He laughed and pulled me into a hug. "I'm not inclined to let family go."

"Right." I poked his cheek and he made a face. "Shall we head inside and start planning for the Grust Invasion? We need to work out how we're going to do that without completely traumatizing Yuliya and Jubelo."

"Very true." His cheer faded a bit, replaced by determination, but his eyes shone as he nodded. "Okay. Hardin. Let's start with Hardin."

"Off we go!" However, as we walked inside, there was something I realized. "Actually, you get a head start. I need to talk to Diana."

"About…?"

"Well, I need to thank her, for one. It was her advice that helped me gather my thoughts enough to tell you." I skipped away a bit and smiled. That was true. I wasn't lying. "I'll catch up later."

Not waiting for an answer, I raced down the hall, hunting for Diana. To my surprise, she wasn't in her room, or Nyna's room, _or_ Yuliya and Jubelo's room. Instead, she was in a small study tucked far away from everything, quietly sewing something at a table, using candles as her light. I thought she might've been mending, at first, but then I noticed there was too much cloth for that. She was actually making something this time, and though it was clearly not done, it looked like it would be a pretty, if simple, dress.

"Ah, hello, Kris," she greeted, barely looking up. She continued sewing, quietly content. "What do you need?"

"It's not exactly what _I_ need," I began. I caught her eye, and waited for her to look up again before continuing. "We're heading into Grust. That means Camus. Do you have a plan?"

"I have ideas." She smiled slowly, gratefully, and still continued to sew. "Are you offering me your assistance?"

"Why I'm here." I sat down at the table and grinned. "So, what are your ideas for dealing with Camus? I'll help you turn it into a plan."

"I'm thankful for the help, but I'm surprised you're so eager at it."

"He annoyed me, so I want to mess up his plans." I shrugged and she burst into laugther. " _Besides_ , neutralizing him is going to be strategically important, and if we can, you know, bring him on our side, that's a lot more soldiers? And Nyna is apparently going to tell Marth about Camus."

"She is. She was practicing earlier."

"See? So, I _know_ my softhearted lovable prince will want to desperately save him for her sake. And if he fails, he'll be miserable. Thus, I have many reasons to be enthusiastic." My grin grew and she laughed, conceding the point. "So. Ideas. Time to turn them into a plan. You getting more people into this?"

"Depends on the tentative plan." Her own smile grew and, to my surprise, her sewing never faltered, not even once. "Again, thanks for this."

"It's in my best interests too. So…~?"

"Yes, yes, give me… ah, two or three more stitches before I tie this off."

"Sure." This was going to be fun. "Let's do this."

* * *

 _Notes on Etzel:_

 _A former student of Khadein who got caught up in the war when Gra betrayed Altea. Lost his wife to the conflict._

 _The slowest of our magic users, but he's got much better defensive capabilities. He helps Wendell teach Merric and Linde how to use staves and magic._

 _Quiet and keeps to himself, often fiddling with his wife's wedding ring._

 _Notes on Est:_

 _The youngest of the Whitewing Captains, with little direct combat capabilities. Chatty and energetic._

 _Her true skill lies in scouting and infiltration, but if she gets caught in a fight, she'll likely be defeated, or captured. Still, she has quite a bit of potential, if she gains the experience._

 _Likely because of an earlier encounter, she spends a lot of time with Abel, and Abel seems to enjoy her company._

 _Notes on Tiki:_

 _Princess of the Divine Dragons, born 500 years prior to the start of the Archanean Calendar. Considering it's the year 605, that makes her 1105 years old. She acts like she's ten, at most._

 _She's a dragon. She transforms into a dragon. She doesn't have a lot of stamina, so she does need a guard for when she's not transformed, but so long as she has her dragonstone in hand…_

 _According to both Bantu and Xane, she actually has tremendous power, but can't utilize it effectively due to her young age. If she loses control, she could wipe out all life on Archanea. Hard to believe, especially if you watch her stuff her face full of Caeda's cookies, but they seem to be quite serious._

* * *

Author's note: And now we have our cute little girl who annihilates everything, Tiki. Yeah, she can only be recruited by Bantu, the character that you've likely forgotten about by this point and will have to baby to survive. In game, there's more enemies, including thieves who can steal the plot important lightsphere and starsphere and take them away, making it impossible for you to create Starlight.

In game, the lightsphere appears more orange, but in Awakening, it's colored white (and is called 'Argent'). The Geosphere (called Vert in Awakening) has no plot importance in this game, and will damage all units on the field (enemy and ally) for 13 points. For reasons unknown, the DS remakes switched the colors of the Geosphere and the Starsphere. (The Starphere is the 'Azure' gem in Awakening)

Tiki's age is roughly guessed based off some supplementary material.

Next Chapter – Camus the Sable


	36. Chapter 18) Camus the Sable

Chapter 18) Camus the Sable

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _General Ordwin, one of the heroes from the old war, was the founder of Grust. Alongside Anri, Cartas, Iote, and Marlon, he led the armies against Medy and then later used his prized knights to unite the people in the west to form his own kingdom. Or trample them into the dust. It depended on which history book you read. Regardless, his descendant, Ludwik, is as different from his forefather as they come. Cowardly, weak, generally uncaring of duty ever since his wife died. Because what better way to live than to turn your love into a symbol of when everything went wrong for your own country. Thanks to him, Grust is a shade of its former glory._

 _They say Ludwik has taken ill in response to everything. I'd argue that he's just hiding because he's not brave enough to see his country fall because of his own actions. Because it's going to fall. It had taken far too many losses. The momentum was ours._

 _Home sweet home, I supposed. It figures that I'd only return when it fell apart._

* * *

Sewing was a very calming exercise. Nothing but you and the thread. Well, not really, but it was easy to let your mind fall into a rhythm. Even if you had a dragon child constantly gasping at each stitch.

"That's so cool!" Tiki breathed, watching me intently. I wouldn't have thought an excitable little girl like her would've been interested in watching someone sew, but she treated it like it was a show at the opera, sitting patiently on the ground by my chair. "It's like magic! Like Ban-Ban's pickling!"

"You should see Caeda's baking," I teased, continuing to sew. I wished I had more cloth to spare so that I could teach her, but unfortunately, I didn't. It had taken a bit to find enough to make a dress like this. "She makes amazing cookies and candy."

"Really?" She whimpered, sulking. "I'm hungry…"

"I'm afraid you will have to wait a bit." I thought about something that I could use to distract her. "Ah, yes. It might take a while, but how about I make you a pretty dress too?"

"Really?" Tiki's face lit up with a smile, hunger forgotten. "Yay! What color?"

"Hmm…" I paused in my sewing to study her, taking note of what she already wore and her coloring. "Red."

"Red?"

"Yes, a red dress, with maybe a pink ribbon. I think that would look good on you." I smiled, and she beamed. "Pink is definitely a good color on you, though."

"You think?" She looked down at her dress, laughing. "Ban-Ban picked it out for me!"

"Did he? At your home?"

"No, at the first village we visited. It was fun!" She giggled. "Everything is fun! Way better than sleeping and nightmares." Before I could ask what she meant by that, she suddenly sat up straight and looked outside my tent. "Oh, Ban-Ban's calling me!"

"Then you'd best go see what he needs." I heard nothing, but I didn't doubt her. Her hearing was far keener than mine. "Don't trip, okay?"

"K! See you later, Diana!" She hopped to her feet and skipped off, laughing and greeting people as she went.

I laughed a little and returned to my sewing, glad she no longer felt 'bad' about not giving me a nickname. It had taken a little while to explain to her why I didn't want my name shortened. It was special to me, given to me by someone I loved dearly. I had to explain that it was like my treasure, and from there, she had understood, mostly. She still delighted in finding nicknames for practically everyone else in the army. Only Nyna had escaped, but that was just because Tiki couldn't figure out a shortening she liked, and Tiki had felt horrible to the point that Nyna improvised an 'slumber party' just to cheer her up. Of course, Nyna had probably focused on that to distract herself from the coming battle. It was the same reason why I was sewing, after all.

"Diana, are you in here?" Minerva walked in without knocking, as was quickly becoming just our custom, and smiled when she saw me sitting in the middle of my tent. "Somehow, I'm not surprised to see you sewing," she murmured. "It was either that or checking your weapons."

"I did that earlier, so now I'm sewing," I explained. I didn't bother looking up. I knew she'd get to her point before long. She was just like that. "It's soothing."

"I never get how you can sew so straight, or not have your hand cramp."

"And I never get how your hands don't cramp gripping the reins of your wyvern from dawn to dusk."

"Fair." She sighed, and rolled her shoulders, slowly relaxing. "Sorry for barging in. I needed some sort of sanity." She laughed when I gave her an incredulous look. 'Sanity' wasn't something people normally associated with me. "Maybe that was the wrong word. But everyone is tense, and while it's understandable, it's enough to make me feel like snapping. I figured it would be very calm here."

"Ah, I understand." I nodded to my work, smiling. "That's why I'm sewing. It's very soothing. The only other thing I could be doing at this point is fussing over Yuliya and Jubelo, and I'm worried that'll be detrimental to them." I didn't want them to become re-dependent on me, no matter how much I liked being needed.

"They were helping Est and Abel with the mounts, last I saw them. It let them pretend that we're not about to battle right in front of their home." Minerva tensed again with the words, and I had to fight to keep from wilting. That was the crux of the problem, and the reason why everyone was tense. We weren't just in Grust. We were at Grust's _palace_ , poised to take it over. "The last messenger returned, refused entry just as the others."

"I'm not surprised." I checked my stitches and nodded, almost done with the dress. "Scouts?"

"They have reported that Grust's most decorated generals, Camus the Sable and One-Eyed Lorenz, have taken the field with the soldiers. It looked like they were preparing for battle."

"So, it's come to that."

"Yes." Minerva tensed more, running a hand through her hair. "Are you scared?"

"Of battle? Not really. Of hurting people I love because their loved ones won't back down, however..." For the first time in a very long while, I almost pricked my finger while sewing. I was _very_ scared of that. "Yes. I'm scared."

"Me too. Not of battle, but that we'll have to kill two people Yuliya and Jubelo love. I don't like that."

"You've half-adopted them."

"They're Maria's age. And I already know I'll have to inflict that pain on Maria because of Michalis. But…"

"I'd like to spare them more pain too." I didn't bother pointing out that if she asked, Marth would seek diplomacy with her brother. She already knew it, but didn't bring it up because he wouldn't take it. She'd known that ever since she joined with us. "But, truth be told, I have a bit of a plan for Camus."

"Do you need help with it?" She smirked when I looked up in surprise. "Children shouldn't have to suffer. They've gone through enough. Is it really so shocking that I'd help prevent that, given what we were just talking about?"

"I suppose I was expecting you to wait to hear the plan first, for some reason." I laughed, tying off my the last thread. "The answer, by the way, is possibly, but I first have to convince the leaders to let me do it before I figure that out."

"If they refuse?"

"I do it anyway. I'm no soldier." I grinned and she laughed. I knew she'd appreciate the audacity. "But I do hope to convince them. It's polite." I held up the dress, finished at last, and grinned at Minerva. "So, you think Maria will like it?"

"You made it for her?" Minerva crouched a little to study it, still laughing. "I thought it was for Yuliya."

"I considered it, but then decided I'd make her one when she's put on a little more weight. So, I made this for Maria, as a thank you for everything she's done. And because I noticed that her dresses are getting a little small. She's hitting a growth spurt, isn't she?"

"She is. She's complaining about the growing pains." Minerva nodded, smiling softly. "She'll love it. The dress, I mean. Shall we give it to her now? I'm sure she could use the cheer and distraction."

"Sure, sounds good." I folded the dress carefully and draped it over my arm. "Lead on."

* * *

Shortly after I gave Maria the dress, and nearly got knocked over from her enthusiastic hug, a War Meeting was called to discuss the inevitable battle. It was almost hard to breath with all the tension in the air. War Meetings were never fun and games, but this particular one weighed heavily on us all.

"I still do hope we can resolve this peacefully, for Yuliya and Jubelo," Prince Marth explained to the rest of us. Kris was standing at his side, just as always, while Hardin stood on his other side. Nyna was sitting, as was our normal, and I was perched on the arm on her chair. Caeda stood between Nyna and Kris, representing the fliers for Minerva, who opted to do an aerial patrol instead. "They've gone through so much, and it's clear they think the world of these two generals." Prince Marth's eyes, however, did dart to Nyna, telling me that she had managed to tell him everything, and that he wanted to resolve things peacefully for her sake too. "So…"

"Unfortunately, we might need to make them buckle before they'll listen," Hardin pointed out. While he pretended to be the calm counterpoint to Prince Marth, he also gave Nyna and me concerned looks. He worried too. I tried to smile to reassure him, but it only made him worry more. "I sent mine to check again, but Wolf's report stated he thought they were moving. If so, we won't have long."

"But how do we make them buckle without…" Marth leaned over the map, fingers digging into the table. Kris nudged him and smiled reassuringly when he glanced over. "I don't want to turn the rivers red if we can help it. Not like the strait."

"Well, I think I can neutralize General Lorenz," Caeda volunteered. She smiled sweetly when we all looked at her, laughing. "You see, while I was doing a patrol, I caught sight of him and realized that I actually know him. He's one of my father's best friends, and I've known him since I was a little girl. I'd forgotten he was a general in Grust. He was always just 'Uncle Lorenz' to me."

"Well, shit, yeah, just send Caeda to him," Kris laughed. That laughter did wonders in easing the tension in the tent. "I mean; Caeda's got a good recruiting record with people she _doesn't_ know. Isn't she like… four for four when it comes to convincing enemies to side with us?"

"You make it seem far better than it is!"

"Caeda, you're amazing. Let me praise you. Or Marth can, if you'd prefer it from him."

"Kris!"

"To keep us somewhat on track, much as I am certain we'd rather tease and be lighthearted..." I began, interrupting. Someone, unfortunately, had to. "I met Sir Lorenz back at Archanea palace, and he was absolutely disgusted that Grust sided with Dolhr." Caeda shot me a grateful look and I smiled back. I did wink when Kris playfully sulked, as a silent apology. "The trickiest part will be making sure she doesn't get shot down, but since she knows Sir Lorenz, she might be able to get away with 'Uncle Lorenz! Let's talk!' or something."

"Meaning we have a plan for Lorenz." Nyna murmured. She clasped her hands in her lap, and held herself a little taller to hide how much she wanted to slump. "So, that leaves Camus…"

"Leave him to me."

"Alone?!" Prince Marth immediately yelped, voice cracking a little from how loud he was. He was the only one surprised Nyna closed her eyes, expecting that I'd say that. Hardin winced, since he knew I'd do this too, while Caeda looked worried, but not shocked like Prince Marth. Kris, of course, grinned. We'd spent a long night discussing this. "You can't just-!"

"Forgive me, Prince Marth, but I am afraid I wasn't asking _you_ for permission," I cut in. I made my voice as even as possible, my tone perfectly calm. People were more likely to listen to you if you made it clear you'd made your choice. "It hasn't come up, not really, but I am not a soldier in your army. I am Nyna's bodyguard, and I assist you on her orders, but when it comes to this, it is not your permission I seek." I got off the arm of the chair and knelt by Nyna. She still had her eyes closed. "Nyna. I can do this. Trust me."

"Always," she said without a single hesitation. She opened her eyes again, and I saw the fear and worry in them, but then she looked at Prince Marth and Hardin. "Very well. Marth, Hardin, please leave Camus to Diana, and whoever else she needs."

"But…" Prince Marth began. I stood up again, knowing I'd need to appear perfectly confident in this. I was nervous, truthfully. But I wouldn't let it show. "To go alone, against…"

"I know him better than anyone here," I, once again, interrupted. If I controlled the conversation, then I had this. "I lived with him for a year and a half. I've sparred with him. I know how to get through his stubbornness and pride. If you want to get him to surrender, I am your best chance at getting him to listen."

"She's actually discussed this with me," Kris chimed in. She caught my eye and winked. I smiled back, grateful. "I think it can work, and I'm _careful_ about my plans. Dead thieves don't make gold. So, come on. Let her try. We can get back up for her easily with a little bit of care."

"Minerva's already volunteered to help me, actually." Well, she sort of did. They didn't know she didn't know the full plan. Yet. "We'll only really get one shot at this. The only other option is battering him into submission, and pray he doesn't die."

"I know she's always getting injured when she does missions like this, and that's why we normally ban her from it, but seriously, this is my plan, made with Diana's knowledge. If anything will work, this will. Not to be prideful or anything." Kris nudged Prince Marth, and Prince Marth sighed but nodded. "Thank you for the trust, pretty boy."

"And, with that settled, I'll go ahead and get ready." But I made sure to rest a hand on Nyna's shoulder to reassure her. "It'll be okay. I'll keep my promise."

"I have one order for you," she whispered. Slowly, she looked up at me as seriously as she could while hiding tears. Today was going to be a rough day emotionally, no matter what. "Don't die. Please."

"I won't," I promised. I squeezed her shoulder. "Wait for the good news, okay?"

I left the tent, mostly before Hardin or Caeda decided to weigh in with no doubt enough good sense to figure out a way to stop me. I strode through the camp without paying attention to anyone, focused entirely on what I would need, and who I would need to talk to. Kris, of course, to go through the plan again. Minerva, to actually tell her what was going on. Probably Midia or Jeorge to ask them to take over my normal infirmary duty. Lena was probably a good idea as well, to warn her that I was going on a 'mission' and, given previous experiences…

"Diana!" Jubelo's voice made me panic and I whirled, expecting some sort of trouble. Instead, I barely had time to brace myself before Jubelo and Yuliya crashed into me, clinging desperately to my legs. "Diana, please don't kill Camus and Lorenz?" Jubelo begged. Tears were already streaming down his face. Yuliya was crying so much that she couldn't do anything else but nod in agreement. "Please? They're nice and we love them and-"

"Easy, easy," I whispered, kneeling down to hug them properly. I rubbed their backs and kissed the top of their heads as I worked on calming them down enough to listen. Asking why they ran to me and not, say, the war meeting wouldn't solve anything. Besides, in this sort of state, they might've just defaulted to 'Diana makes everything better'. "I know you're worried, but we remember our promises to you. We even have a plan that we're almost certain will work for Sir Lorenz."

"B-But not Camus?"

"Camus is going to be tricky, because of his pride, his loyalty, and his guilt. But that's why I'm going to deal with him myself." A thought occurred to me as I wiped the tears from their faces. A thought that would not leave me alone, even as my heart keened at it. "Do you two want to help me, actually?" I hated asking. I really did. But some part of me thought it would do them some good to be at least a little involved. They had spent so much time helpless and stuck waiting and helping out in the infirmary had done wonders for their recovery. Maybe this would too. "You don't have to. It'll be scary. But if you want to…" It broke my heart how quickly they nodded. Yes, they were eager to do anything they could to keep from being _helpless_. "Okay. Then the first thing… well, the absolute first thing is cleaning your faces. Then we're talking to Minerva."

There was a lot that could go wrong with this. I knew that better than anyone. But if I didn't take the chance…

* * *

I could hear the sounds of battle in the distance, but I ignored it. Part of me felt guilty, not guarding the infirmary as I usually did, but the rest of me was completely focused on navigating the woods and not getting horribly lost. Thanks to the scouts, we knew where Camus was, more or less, and I needed to hurry to make sure I made it to him. There was a bit of timing to all of this, and my nerves were making me a little shaky. Not just because of how many things could go wrong. This would be the first time I'd seen him since Nyna and I left the palace. I'd talked about him with Sirius, but I hadn't seen him. It was like going on a long job and then coming back 'home' to the Wolf Pack. Nervous about what all might've changed. Worried that things would be too different to adapt.

With those thoughts bouncing through my skull, I made it to the clearing where our scouts had spotted Camus, and I got my first bit of good luck for the day. He was alone, letting his horse graze a bit on the grass. He looked up when he heard my approach and froze when he realized it was me. After a moment of staring, he dismounted and opened his mouth to say something. But he closed it without saying anything.

I remained silent for a while too, studying him. Making sure it was really him and not Sirius, and then looking him over when I confirmed it. "No wonder you hid in Gra," I whispered at last. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Pardon?" Camus replied. He smiled slightly, like he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "Well…"

"And when was the last time you ate properly? You've definitely lost weight, and I'm not sure you had a lot to spare." I sighed gustily, shaking my head. "For crying out loud… don't you know how to take care of yourself?"

"The first words out of your mouth are to scold me for my health? Really?"

"Well, clearly, no one else has." I gave him a stern look, and he attempted to retain some sort of stoicism. But within a handful of heartbeats, we were both laughing at how ridiculous this all was. "Well, aside from what I mentioned, you're looking good. Ish. Better than I would've thought, given your time in whatever Medy put you in."

"A cage and a dungeon. I've a few more scars, but nothing that affected my fighting ability."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not. You and Nyna made it."

"We did. And we got the army, just as Nyna promised she would when Archanea fell." I grinned at him. "I'd say we've done very well for ourselves. Somewhat. There's still issues."

"I'm sure." He continued laughing for a bit, but soon, it quieted. After all, no amount of cheer could erase the reason why I was out here. "Sirius delivered your message. With a laugh, I may add." His smile disappeared, but my grin only grew. "I don't intend to come quietly, you know. I have lived as a knight, and I intend to die as one. There are no other paths for me to walk."

"Luckily, I don't need you to walk. I told you that I'd drag you kicking and screaming if I had to." I dropped a hand to my sword, and he took Gradivus off his horse's saddle. "I keep my promises, Camus. I always do. And I made on, to both you and Nyna."

"You are the most stubborn person I have ever met."

"You and Nyna made the mistake of making me feel again. That includes stubbornness."

A low, deep, rumbling roar echoed through the air then, rolling like thunder. It was quicker followed by a higher, louder roar. I glanced up to see Tiki and Bantu's heads just above the trees, both having transformed into their dragon forms. Camus gaped at them, probably taken very off-guard because we hadn't really used dragons in our strategy since Archanea fell. I, however, had been expecting it. Hardin had insisted on some sort of distraction to help Caeda and me reach our destinations safely. But I didn't need it for safety. I needed it to get the jump on Camus. Because even with that distraction, I _barely_ landed a gash on his arm.

He retaliated instantly, and I got a graze across my abdomen as I tried to dodge. He parried my next strike, but I kicked him. He caught my leg and yanked me forward to be off-balance. And so our fight began.

He didn't mount up, even though he was best at fighting while mounted. He didn't use his full strength, and it was easy to see just because of how long I was lasting. Ignoring how he was wielding Gravidus, the most powerful lance on the continent, he was wielding a lance. I was wielding a sword. Honestly, he could've skewered me and be done with this. But he didn't. I knew he wouldn't. Because for all that he swore to put aside his feelings to be the knight, he considered me his friend and he didn't want me to die. For all that he tried to harden his heart, he didn't want Nyna to cry, and if I was hurt, she would. He had to hold back, or add to his guilt.

I was a very horrible person, using that to my advantage, but I would take it. I had to, really. If I didn't, there was no way I'd keep my promise.

After a while, about the time where the battle-fever turned everything from 'dear gods, what the hell am I doing?' to 'haha, I am invincible! Except not!', I decided to go for the next part of the plan. As I dodged a couple hits, I reached into my pocket, and pulled out one of Kris's 'little gifts', given to me shortly before I left. I dodged a couple more strikes before I threw it as hard as I could at him. Camus automatically slashed at it, releasing the smokescreen, and in the midst of the coughing, I ran. After a few steps, I glanced back, just to make sure he was following, and seeing that he was, I focused on running as fast as I could. I knew he'd follow. At this point, his pride and stubbornness was kicking in. And by running, I reduced the chances of others intervening, and I knew he'd prefer that. If his soldiers saw him fighting me, they'd strike me down easily. Because I was the 'enemy'.

I kept on running, ducking through the trees to slow Camus down just a little bit, heading for where I knew the trees thinned out. Even knowing where I was, though, I had to skid to a stop to keep from tumbling off the cliffs that over looked the river. A quick look around showed that I was probably further upriver from the spot I'd scouted out earlier with Minerva, but it was close enough to work. Hopefully. So, I settled into a stance and dodged when he struck. When I parried another one, teeth rattling even from the glancing blow, I made a mental note to thank Hardin for all the sparring practice. His lessons vastly improved my ability to hold out against a lance user.

However, those lessons did give me the time to realize something crucial that I stupidly hadn't considered. The fighting style he used was different now. Which made sense, considering it had been quite a few months since I'd last fought him. It was less aggressive than before, but guarded his legs more, especially the one I knew was crippled. With the range advantage, and his general skill, I knew it would take a long while to break through it. A while that I didn't want to risk. So, glancing to the side, I made a quick change to the 'plan' and mentally thanked Kris for insisting on giving me _three_ of her 'little gifts'.

Ducking under a slash, I brought out another of Kris's 'little gifts' and threw it. Camus didn't slash at it this time, but dodged it instead to make it land harmlessly far away. I used that as a distraction to grab the third and throw it on the ground to set off another smokescreen. Camus coughed and looked around, clearly expecting me to run. But I didn't. Instead, I took advantage of the dropped guard to sheathe my sword and land three blows to his leg. The second of the three hit that scar, left from Charles two years ago, and Camus buckled instantly, gasping in pain. I tried to pin him down as the smoke began fading, but I couldn't get a good enough angle to overcome the strength difference. So, I made a mental apology to pretty much everyone, kicked Gradivus out of his hand, made sure I had a good grip on both him and my sword, and twisted us both off the cliff.

It wasn't a long fall. I'd planned for that. Not because the plan including me cliff-diving, but just in case one of us fell. It also had a lot of sand and other soft ground, so it was a relatively soft landing. Mine was even softer, since I managed to angle my landing to bounce off of Camus and knock the air out of him. I scrambled to my feet as he tried to recover, and managed to actually pin him this time, thanks to having more room to maneuver and him not fighting me as much. He did still try to struggle, but I got my blade out of its sheathe, messily enough to accidentally fling the sheathe somewhere behind me, and got the blade against his throat. With that, and the pin, I had him. Barely.

"I win," I declared, breath ragged. I was really feeling all the bruises and a very quick glance showed I was bleeding, scraped up by something. "Surrender."

"Not quite yet…" he growled. He tried to flip me, but I managed to dig in my feet. And made him wince and give up because of my 'conveniently' stepping on that scar on his leg. If it sent enough pain to make him buckle, then continued pressure had to be the worst. "Ugh…"

"You know; you really should've expected dirty tactics from the start. I'm a mercenary, not a knight. I don't have honor the same way you do."

"What even were those smokescreens anyway?"

"Kris made them. She's Prince Marth's guard, basically. You met her."

"The mage knight."

"Yep. The Thoron tome has been very useful, by the way."

"I figured." Camus began laughing bitterly then, hanging his head and slumping. Definitely giving up. "Why do you not give up on me? Given everything that happened. Why?"

"You mean besides 'hey, you are kind of my friend' and 'I made a promise and I damn well meant it'?" I sighed gustily, retroactively apologizing to everyone who ever had to deal with me. "I told you. You need to stop denying yourself happiness out of guilt. If I need to do that, then so do you. We are not the only ones allowed to sacrifice for loved ones." I shifted my grip on him, hands and arms aching. "We're both idiots, thinking that way."

"But that is what a knight does."

"Trying to protect loved ones at the cost of your life is admirable, but that's not what you do. That's not what I do. We have no regard for our lives at all, and we just happen to keep the people we love safe. So, no, it's not what a knight does. It's just what people like you and me do. And I won't let that kill you. I won't."

"Even if I deserve it?"

"Well, I don't agree. Nyna doesn't agree. Sirius doesn't agree." A shadow passed overhead, and I smiled when I saw Minerva land not far from us, basically only far enough to make sure her wyvern didn't kick up sand in our faces. "Do you think they'd agree?"

"Who are you talking about?" Camus lifted his head, frowning at Minerva as she helped her 'passengers' off the wyvern. And he stiffened, because he knew them. Of course he knew them. "Prince Jubelo? Princess Yuliya?"

"I saved them. Thanks to what you told me, I found and saved them, with a lot of help. I've been taking care of them." I smirked, amused. I had this. "I told you. I fight dirty. Let's see you try to explain to them why you're trying to fight to the death."

"You are a very mean person."

"I'm a very _loyal_ person." I glanced up and saw Jubelo and Yuliya racing for us. "And it's always been my biggest flaw."

"Camus!" Jubelo slipped in the sand, but he caught himself and threw his arms around Camus. I hastily removed my blade from Camus's throat. "Camus, you're okay!" he sobbed. "You're okay!"

"We've missed you," Yuliya added. She tried to be a little calmer, but lost the fight and tucked herself into his chest to hide her own tears. "You're horribly late, by the way. Why are you fighting? They're nice. Mostly."

"Well, that's…" Camus began shakily. But, as I knew would happen, he didn't have the words. He struggled for them, but all the excuses in the world didn't really work on children. "I…"

"Is it because of us?" Yuliya looked up at him and tugged on his shirt. "B-because we're safe. We're here. We're home."

"So, you don't have to fight anymore," Jubelo added. He managed a smile through his tears. "So, please? We're tired of all the fighting."

"…Okay," Camus whispered. I stepped away, but he didn't try to get up. Instead, he just hugged Yuliya and Jubelo. "Okay. I'll stop. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, you two."

I watched a moment longer before limping over to Minerva. She leaned against her wyvern with a smile, eyes soft as she watched the heartwarming scene, but she looked over to me when I got close. "You threw yourself off the cliff?" she asked dryly. "I swore the plan was to meet on the cliff, because the openness would make it easier for the two of them. But I was flying by, and saw you throw the two of you off of the cliff."

"I couldn't pin him, and had no idea how close you were," I protested before groaning. I ached all over and I just wanted to curl up and fall asleep. "Why can I never do a mission that doesn't leave me bruised?"

"At least you're not near death this time." Minerva laughed and nudged me to her wyvern. "Let's get you patched up while they continue to guilt him."

"Thanks." I smiled at her, as brightly as I could. "Really, thanks for playing along with this."

"They're smiling. You're smiling. Nyna will smile too, hopefully." She gave me a knowing smirk, and I smiled back. She hadn't been 'officially' told, but she guessed. I probably made it obvious by accident. "But let's get you bandaged, okay?"

"Thank you."

* * *

It took a bit to figure out some way to safely return to the fight, and even longer to find Gradivus. But when we did, Camus 'officially' surrendered, and Yuliya and Jubelo shamed the Grust soldiers on our side of the field into standing down. On the other side, closer to the castle, Caeda successfully talked down Sir Lorenz, and got them all to surrender. From there, we moved into the castle. King Ludwik was in his rooms, refusing to leave, even to meet with his children. Yuliya and Jubelo didn't care, and honestly, I thought that was the saddest thing of all.

"I can't believe you," Nyna murmured, much later, after everything had calmed down. She carefully tended to my bruises and scrapes, struggling to not cry. "I mean… I believed, but I also… oh, how do I explain?"

"You believed that I would do everything I could, but also believed that life would kick us in the ass," I helpfully translated. I winced as she picked a rock out of a scrape before cleaning it. "Also, this is a nice room. Much better than the guest rooms used to be."

"I'm glad you approve." She sniffed, and rubbed roughly at her eyes before returning to cleaning my injuries. "Well, it's nice and soft. The bed is nice."

"They replaced the mattresses. You can actually bounce on this. Trying to jump on the mattresses last time I was here simply led to the bed collapsing."

"You know this first hand?"

"Maybe." I grinned and, after a moment, she giggled. "But yeah, they're much better. Though, not necessarily cleaner." I frowned as I noticed dust in the corners. "Who cleaned these rooms?"

"Now, now, it was meant to be a quick clean anyway."

"Quick cleans involve corners." I grumbled a little more, and she continued giggling. "So, how are you?"

"Hmm? About?"

"Camus. Being here with us. Finally."

"Oh, well…" She smiled shyly. "I get to see him again. I get to talk to him. I get to walk beside him again. That's enough."

"What? You don't want him to kiss you breathless against a wall, among possibly other things?" I laughed when she went bright-bright red. "Come on. It's just me here."

"…W-well, maybe. If he wants. I do want to talk to him again, and… you know… maybe have a more traditional courting?"

"Make sure the spark is still there." I smiled gently at her, and she smiled back, still blushing badly. "Well, from here, it won't be all sunshine and rainbows, much as I wish it were." No matter how much people liked her, Nyna was hoping to make a former enemy her lover. That wasn't going to go over well. "You'll have a long fight ahead of you. But I'll be here, for both of you."

"If you don't bruise everything first."

"At least I didn't break anything?" I made my smile sheepish, and she pouted at me before tying off the last bandage. "And I'm not horribly bloody?"

"If you ever have to go on a mission again, Kris is making the plan."

"You won't hear me complaining." I might've said more, probably to tease her more, but the door suddenly slammed open and I jumped off the bed to scoop up my sword and prepare for the interlopers. However, before I settled into a stance, I realized our visitors were Yuliya and Jubelo, who were both grinning at me. And holding the hands of a very awkward Camus.

"Diana!" Yuliya laughed. She let go of Camus to hug me. "Lorenz wants to have dinner with us, but we can't remember what foods we can safely have."

"You're still on mild foods as per healer's orders," I replied. I looked up at Camus, who apparently found a spot on the floor very interesting, and then over at Nyna. Nyna had stood up as well and smoothed her skirts, awkwardly looking away because the wall was incredibly intriguing somehow. "But you two are horrible at picking them out, so you must be very careful."

"So, can you come with?"

"Is this a roundabout way of asking to have dinner?"

"N-no!"

"Yep!" Jubelo answered without a shred of shame. He also let go of Camus to hug me. Yuliya gave him a dirty look. "We know you're busy, though. Are all your injuries okay?"

"They are," I reassured, ruffling his hair. I glanced up again, and saw Camus and Nyna just standing silently, not quite looking at each other. Except they repeatedly did peek, and look away again. "Was Camus watching you while I was getting tended?"

"He was." Jubelo frowned at Camus, noticing the slowly growing awkwardness in the room. "Um…"

"Right, you two head outside." I nudged them towards the door, crossed the room to rest my blade in the back corner, and then when I returned I 'accidentally' shoved Nyna right at Camus. She yelped and struggled to not fall, but Camus caught her automatically. They stared at each other for a moment, before Nyna clung to him with all her strength, and Camus hugged her back.

Jubelo and Yuliya, still in the doorway, looked very confused, but I ushered them out and closed the door behind us. "Diana?" Yuliya asked as we walked down the hall. Both of them took my hands and stepped closer to me. "Is Nyna Camus's lover?"

"Not officially, yet," I replied. Both of them gasped, but smiled happily. "Excited?"

"It's like the stories!" Yuliya's eyes sparkled and there was a bit of a bounce to her step now. "The princess and the knight! They'll live happily ever after, right?"

"Well, they'll have to fight a little more. I'm sure you've noticed the world can be complicated. But I'm sure they'll reach it."

"Aw, that'll probably mean Camus will have to leave, right?" Jubelo asked. His smile faded a bit, and Yuliya's own cheer diminished. "Nyna will have to go to Archanea. She'll be the empress."

"There is nothing that says you can't visit, or that he can't visit you," I gently reminded, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "I'll be living with Nyna too, but I know I'll always welcome you two."

"Promise?"

"Promise." I kissed his forehead, and hugged them both. Yuliya pouted before I kissed her forehead too. "I'd miss you too much."

"We'll miss you too," Yuliya murmured. She coughed, struggling to regain some sort of dignity, and tugged my hand. "B-but, come on! Lorenz is waiting!"

"He is," Jubelo agreed. He tugged my hand too, and both 'dragged' me down the hall. They were too weak still to really do that, but it was amusing. "Actually, there he is."

"Oh, you're right! Lorenz!" Yuliya waved with her free hand to Sir Lorenz, who was waiting at the end of the hall. "We're here!"

"So I see," Sir Lorenz laughed, smiling softly. He looked around in confusion, though. "I thought Camus was with you."

"He was, but he's kissing Nyna now," Yuliya explained. I nearly choked on a laugh. "So, Diana is going to join us."

"I see." Sir Lorenz focused on me, and bowed. "Truthfully, I didn't expect to see you again, Dame Diana. I must thank you for keeping Prince Jubelo and Princess Yuliya safe, and for saving Camus."

"Well, I had help," I replied, torn between pride and humility. Pride almost won. I felt amazing and… mostly unstoppable. The bruises reminded me that I was, in fact, very stoppable. "And I'll continue protecting him. And Nyna."

"Then there's nothing to fear for them. I'm glad for that." He laughed and looked down to the twins. "Now, then. What do you two say to a good meal? I'm starving."

"They can't eat too fast. And not too many sweets yet." I scowled as Jubelo and Yuliya groaned. "You don't want to be sick again, do you?"

I didn't see Camus or Nyna until the next morning, partially because I chose to celebrate the victory with Astram, Wolf, Hardin, and the other soldiers. And paritially because they'd spent the rest of the day talking to each other and tentatively making their plans for the future. I teased them silly. I felt I deserved that.

* * *

 _Notes on Lorenz:_

 _A general of Grust and an old friend of King Mostyn of Talys. He lost his eye long ago, charging ahead recklessly instead of holding the line as he should've._

 _His age is catching up to him, making him weaker than he had been in his prime. However, he is still capable of guarding with the best of them, and his experience helps dearly for planning these final battles._

 _Despite his intimidating presence, he acts like a doting uncle to Caeda, Yuliya, and Jubelo, as well as a doting father to Camus. He loves nothing more than listening to them explain their day, and teasing them._

 _Notes on Camus:_

 _Leader of the Sable Knights, widely regarded as Grust's finest knight, and many call him the strongest warrior on the continent._

 _Strong, reasonably fast, with a lot of stamina and skill. That he also wields Gradivus, a lance capable of healing the wielder, makes him almost unkillable._

 _Honorable, righteous, loyal, stubborn and prideful. Prone to guilt complexes, but does his best to protect the people he loves with all that he has. His loved ones are, truly, his only weakness._

* * *

Author's note: Okay. Here's where I have a canon deviation, a fairly big one. In game, you have to 'kill' Camus, because… well, there's a reason why it's called the _Camus_ Archetype (others in the archetype include Eldigan in FE4, Galle in FE6, Selena in FE8, and Xander in FE14 Birthright). Full disclosure, I am not fond of this archetype, as both a reader and a writer. It can be done well, but most of the time, I get irritated at the characters and writing in question. And, funnily enough, the way Camus got handled is the _most_ infuriating to me. For multiple reasons.

1) On the very same map, you recruit Lorenz. With the argument that a true knight should guide the country, and that a true knight should protect the people and all that lovely stuff. An argument that was never said against Camus, despite him basically saying the same thing as Lorenz. (Ftr, yes, Caeda can recruit Lorenz, but so can Marth, and they basically use the same argument. Marth also talks with Camus, and the conversation involves Nyna pleading to Camus to stand down.) This is the least of my annoyances because I can actually think of a few in-character things for it. I heavily dislike it, but I could've figured out a way to make it make sense. Maybe. (Hey, I made something work for Eldigan. Ish. If this was the only thing, I could've made it work.)

2) Camus doesn't actually die. No, really, he doesn't die. Somehow, despite him being an enemy commander, and despite him being someone that Marth and Nyna actually want to survive, he is simply left for dead with no one checking and he survives. (Why does Fire Emblem think people won't check that commanders are dead?)

3) He somehow manages to wash ashore in Valentia, across the sea to the west, while being only mostly dead (because apparently no one bothers to check that enemy commanders are dead in Fire Emblem games, yes this bothers me a lot). He loses his memory from the trauma and is renamed Ezekiel, or 'Zeke', a playable Gold Knight from FE2/FE15. Except, based on dialogue (admittedly, could be wrong here), he not only washed ashore (while being near dead based on the memory prism specifically mentioning his very bad injuries) he also washed ashore on the wrong coast. The dialogue in Echoes implied, to me at least, that Tatiana and Zeke have always lived in that Rigelian village. Which is visited in Alm's story. Which is in the _western half of Valentia_. For reminders, Archanea is _east_ of Valentia. (If I'm wrong on this, feel free to correct me. I don't mind.)

There are a few other lesser reasons (well, not lesser, but more personal things instead of 'I disagree with the writing choice' things), but mostly, I am annoyed by these story decisions and this is a fanfiction where I can bend things and I decided that the headaches of accounting for this canon deviation were less than the headaches of trying to reason all of the above out. So here, have Camus surviving. And we'll 'pause' the discussion there for now, to continue in the next chapter's author's notes. I'm sure most can guess the rest from here, but still, pausing for now because it'll be a little more relevant in the next chapter.

For additional notes, in this chapter, you can obtain the Hammerne staff, which repairs items. Lena is the only one capable of using it because, as dialogue outright states, it's been passed down through her family. (You're near her home village and get the staff from visiting and talking to her grandfather.) If you're curious about why Diana recommends a red dress for Tiki? Check out Tiki's Awakening artwork. There is no indication in game that Lorenz has his own little title-epithet thing. I just added that in. Bantu having a liking for pickling things comes up in his FE12 supports with the Avatar.

Next Chapter – Men and Monsters (Shadow Dragon Paralogue; also, fun fact, including interludes and intermission and epilogue, we are 9~ chapters away from the ending)


	37. Chapter 18x) Men and Monsters

Chapter 18x) Men and Monsters

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _I wished I could say it was all awesome and amazing after taking Grust, but while some people's moods do get a much needed boost, others… well, not so much. Most of the Archaneans remember well that their former king, and their home, fell to Camus. Some remember that Camus and his Sable Order assisted Gra in conquering Altea. Lorenz isn't associated with quite so many 'famous' falls, but he was an enemy general, and one that had put down many would-be rebellions. It makes for some awkwardness._

 _Minerva, surprisingly, is a big defender of theirs, though, reminding everyone that she, once, was our enemy and pointing out that Jubelo and Yuliya had been held hostage, much like Maria. Others point out that recruiting enemies isn't that unusual. Roger, Navarre, Jake, Beck, Castor, Darros, Matthis… they had all been enemies too. This war did have some very clear cut sides and morals, but not all._

 _Besides, it is absolutely adorable watching Lorenz dote on the children, including technically-way-older-than-him Tiki, and watching Camus and Nyna take walks through the gardens and smile shyly at each other. So, screw the haters._

* * *

"You're doing great, Tiki," I praised, grinning at her. She grinned back, practically vibrating with excitement. "Okay, so try to place your foot like this…" I demonstrated and she attempted to mimic me, but fell a bit short. "No, no, more on the front of your foot…" She fixed her footing and my grin grew. "There you go. Perfect."

"Hee~" Tiki giggled. She covered her mouth, though, when I mimed for quiet. "Hide and seek."

"Hide and seek." I looked out from our hiding place, an alcove in the hall, and looked both ways. "Okay, follow me."

"Right!" She grinned and clung to my shirt as we continued sneaking our way through the halls and into the courtyard. We were having 'very important' hide and seek lessons, namely me teaching Tiki how to sneak around, in the name of one thing: some nice, playful spying.

We made it to the courtyard easily and peered hunted around, Tiki muffling giggles the whole while. I didn't mind, since this was just a playful thing, and it wasn't like the people involved were paying much attention. Well, Camus might have, but he never let his attention waver from Nyna as the two walked and talked, both smiling softly. As for the other couple… yeah, nothing was distracted my pretty boy prince from the even prettier princess. Marth and Caeda were on a 'date', really a 'GO TAKE A WALK, DAMN IT, YOU ARE WORKING TOO MUCH' that was disguised as a date. I'd arranged it, mostly because I knew Caeda and Marth hadn't been able to spend too much time together. So, I wanted to make sure everything was going well. Then I wanted to make sure Camus and Nyna were doing okay. Diana wasn't around to do it; she was helping out Jubelo and Yuliya with some political nonsense.

After watching the two couples for a while, Tiki's giggling was getting a little too loud, so we retreated back inside the palace, the 'lesson' over.

"That was so much fun, Tina!" Tiki laughed, holding onto my hand. I smiled back, a little relieved she enjoyed herself so much. She was only really with me because, somehow, I'd got assigned as her babysitter for the morning. Mostly because everyone else who normally did was busy, and I had like… no experience with children who weren't 'rivals' in the business. "Thank you~!"

"Those are the basics," I teased, leading her down the halls. I had no idea what to do next with her. "You have to practice them to _really_ be good."

"Practice. Right." She nodded determinedly, before grinning again. "Can we have sweets? Caeda makes the best sweets."

"She does, but I think you ate all of her last batch." In fact, I was fairly certain that Caeda had intended the last batch to be for 'the army', but she'd made the mistake of letting Tiki 'eat her fill' first. Manakete children ate a lot, apparently. "So, you'll have to wait."

"Aw…" She sulked a bit and then groaned. "Ugh, Xaney." She ducked behind me as Xane stepped out from around a corner way up ahead, looking around for a moment before striding towards us. "I hate him."

"Really? I thought you liked him."

"He pulled a prank on me."

"Really, now?" I was a bit torn. On the one hand, I could understand not wanting to be around someone who had pranked you. On the other hand, Xane was a better babysitter than me. I was out of ideas of what to do with her. "Say, I've an idea."

"Yes?"

"If he pulls another prank, you let me know, and I'll make him regret it." I winked at her, and she became thoughtful. "You can even make sure he knows it."

"Mmm… I suppose." She sighed gustily and still sulked when Xane caught up. "Xaney, be nice, or Kris is gonna get you."

"Well, that's a threat," Xane deadpanned. He shot me a look and I shrugged slightly. "Fine, fine. Threat heard. Now, come on, little princess. Bantu has lessons for you."

"Ugh…" Tiki groaned. But she took Xane's hand, using her free arm to hug me. "I had fun, Tina! See you later!"

Making sure to keep up my smile, I waved her goodbye, until she and Xane were out of sight. Then I sighed and rolled my shoulders, a bit relieved. I felt bad, but damn, I couldn't handle kids well. Maybe that would change when I got more used to this sort of life, or maybe when I was just around kids more. I was more or less certain Tiki was going to live with us in Altea when all this was over, after all. I knew Marth wouldn't mind, and she looked happy at the idea.

Then again, maybe I just didn't handle kids well. There were people like that.

Stretching my arms above my head, I picked a random direction to walk, just to stretch my legs. We were taking a short, or not so short, break here in Grust, and it was probably the best thing ever for us. It gave us time to relax, to gather supplies, to repair weapons and armor or replace me, to settle some tempers… it was nice, even if I was sometimes bored because there was nothing for me to really do around here.

So, I simply wandered, getting a bit of exercise, eventually ending up near the stables. To my somewhat surprise, I saw Abel and Est hanging out, laughing happily over something as they tended to their mounts. I almost stepped out to tease them, but then I noticed something a little… well, Palla was also in the stables, brushing down her pegasus. But she seemed to be doing her best to hide, even as she shot longing looks over at the couple and… yeah, that looked awkward. Very awkward. So, I chose instead to escape the stables, and head to the practice yard.

That turned out to be not a _great_ idea, though, because Cain was there. Shirtless. Exercising. So, I miiiiight've stayed there and stared for longer than appropriate. Worse, he finished up and turned to grab a towel or something, and saw me.

"Um… hi?" I greeted, smiling and hoping to everything it wasn't awkward. Desperately to do something, I grabbed the towel for him and passed it over. "So, uh… why no shirt?"

"I was overheating," Cain answered. He took the towel from me calmly, damn him, and wiped the sweat off. My eyes were drawn, as usual, to the scars covering his chest and back, wounds from the battle with Gra. "It's humid, you know."

"Oh, right." I shrugged, not quite looking at him and bent down to snatch up his shirt for him, and his water. "Here."

"Thanks." He took both from me, slipping the shirt back on before sipping the water. I just stood there awkwardly, cursing myself for how tongue-tied I was. During spars and lessons, the two of us were fine, but as soon as we tried interacting in any other way… well, it was like this. "What are you up to?"

"I'm just walking around, really. Exercising. I was watching Tiki, but Xane has her now." I shrugged, clasping my hands behind my back. I wished I could just go back to joking with him. That would be much better. But I wanted to ask about why he kissed my forehead. But I couldn't get the words out, mostly because the logical direction for the conversation there was 'why did I kiss his cheek?'. And I didn't want to answer that question. There was too much going on. "So... uh… Abel and Est? I saw them. There was a nice atmosphere."

"He's crushing. It's hilarious." He grinned and I managed a smile in return. "I think the two were talking about formerly courting after the war, and maybe opening a shop in Altea."

"Altea? They won't, say, go to Macedonia?"

"Est apparently really liked Altea." He shrugged. "I don't know much. They're still chatting about it. I normally try to give them their space."

"I see." I nodded, but then thought of Palla, watching them longingly. That had to be… really awkward. "Um… So…"

A messenger appeared then, thanks to everything holy, sparing me from having to make more awkward conversation. However, the message they had was… well… borderline unbelievable and definitely a 'what the hell' inducer.

Despite the king surrendering, despite the crown prince and princess being here, despite both Lorenz and Camus vowing to fight alongside us… some Grustian knights were trying to take a village hostage to force us into leaving them be.

What in all the actual hells?

* * *

I had so many questions. Why were the soldiers stupid enough to do this? Why was this place hotter than the desert? Why did the villagers hide here of all places? How were people _not freaking dying from the heat_?

"This is the most annoying fight ever," I grumbled, walking past another corpse and pushed my hair out of my sweaty fac. These soldiers were pathetic, really. I was more aggravated by the heat than them. "Argh, I should've worn my hair in a bun or something." My ponytail was all but attached to my neck due to the sweat. "I wonder how much trouble I'd get in if I pushed them off the edge into whatever is glowing below." It probably wouldn't be much. Everyone else was annoyed too.

As soon as we heard what had happened, we of course mobilized. Due to the need for speed, it was mostly cavalry with some 'supporting' units, like me. This meant Altea knights, Hardin and his group, and Camus with the Sable Order. It was an impressive sight, so impressive that most of the enemy dropped their weapons and surrendered. Some idiots, however, continued to fight, and no one knew where the villagers were besides 'somewhere in this too hot mountain', so cavalry went a'fighting and I was one of those hunting for villagers.

Sighing, and thoroughly tempted to just chuck my clothes because of how sweaty they were, I continued down the path, walking carefully since the ground was a bit unstable, especially around the edges. Before long, I made it to a very large section of ground, and came across two people. One looked like Camus, but dressed in casual clothing, so I guessed it was Sirius. The other was… well… uh… I… I didn't know people grew that big, actually.

"Um… hello?" I called. The giant whirled towards me, axe raised, but Sirius stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Archanean army here to assist, or… whatever our official title is. I can't remember. It's too damned hot. I think my brain is cooking."

"It's cooler in the hiding place, but not by much," Sirius joked. He smiled and saluted at me. "Hello again, young thief-mage. Though I see a sword."

"Yeah, I just have to be all special and everything." I shrugged, and nodded towards the giant. "Um… hi. I'm Kris. I'm…"

"She's the right hand of Prince Marth, meaning she is most definitely not with the idiots who thought trying to punch you was a good idea."

"Is that so?" the man muttered. He brought his axe down slowly and nodded. "Not sure I trust her, but you've been all right, Sirius." He focused on me again. "The name is Ymir. We've been guarding the villagers."

"This is an interesting choice of hideout?" I replied, feeling awkward. It was too damned hot. "So… oh, hey, Marth." I waved as Marth walked up then. He'd discarded his cape at some point, and rolled up his sleeves. "Villagers are guarded by these people."

"Oh, I'm glad they're safe," Marth replied with a bright smile. It was also relieved, and I knew some part of it was because we now could leave this horrible place. "Ah, hello, you two. I am Prince Marth of Altea. Are the villagers injured?"

Leaving Marth to make small talk with Ymir, I jumped over to Sirius with a smile on my face. "Soooo, we got Camus!" I informed him. He grinned in return. "He's actually here with us."

"I heard," Sirius revealed, bringing his lance to his side. "Well, not that he was here. That he surrendered. I was on my way back home to snag a few things before coming across what was going on here and assisting."

"That's kind of you."

"Well, it's not like these guys are hard." Sirius nodded to something behind me and waved. "Looks like you all are done, Camus!"

"Sirius, what are you doing here?" Camus asked, walking up. Hardin followed him, and joined in the conversation with Marth and Ymir. I assumed the fighting, what little there had been, was over. "I thought…"

"Couldn't leave the big guy to fight alone." Sirius shrugged. "Anyway, though, I am planning on running. Was going to leave a note at our house, but this is so much better."

"I see." Camus looked down and gripped Gradivus tightly. "Sirius, I…"

"Yeah, no." Sirius lightly bopped Camus on the head and made a face. "Wow, your hair is sweaty."

" _None_ of us are much better. Why did you have to hide in the fire cave?"

"Don't look at me. I followed." He shrugged again. "Regardless, no apologizing. If I'd been faster, I would've been off anyway. I'll head back to pay my respects to the prince and princess, I suppose, and then I'll be off sailing." Sirius grinned, leaning forward slightly. "And when I get back, you better be married! Though, I'd like to properly meet her, I suppose. I don't think I ever got to. I'm sure Lorenz is sharing stories from your training, but _I_ have the ridiculous stories from when we were little."

"I'm tempted to push you off now." Still, Camus smiled. "I'm sorry."

"You've always been an idiot. I'm used to it. Just like you're used to dealing with me." He looked to me and pointed to Camus. "That said, he's a _big_ idiot sometimes."

"Diana knows," I retorted. Sirius laughed and Camus facepalmed. "Anyway, can we get the villagers out now?"

Slowly, we got the villagers out and began escorting them out of the area and into a plus much, much cooler. I was one of the last ones out, mostly in case I needed to zap some people. I didn't, of course. It was a rather pathetic battle all things told, more annoying than anything, and when the last villager started down the path, I breathed a sigh of relief and made to follow.

A low, very low, rumble, however, stopped me cold. Slowly, I turned, wondering what the hell, and saw a shadow looming in the distance. It was humongous and reptilian in nature, but with large wings. It was hunched down, watched us with glowing gold eyes, and flames licked about its mouth. I stared in horror, realizing just what it was, but it lumbered off, apparently uninterested in us. But even after it disappeared, I continued to stare, and did so until someone came and got me. And the whole way back, I only had one question in my mind.

What the hell was a _dragon_ doing here?

* * *

"A dragon in the volcano there?" Xane actually looked a bit troubled when I finished telling him about what I had seen. "Strange," he murmured, frowning. We were sitting on a windowsill in a random hallway, visible enough for people to find us, if need be, but hidden enough for people to know to not disturb. "Most of the degenerated fire dragons I know of are much further north, past the desert and the Thabes Labryinth…"

"And what is that?" I asked, feeling a bit unnerved. I actually wasn't sure if I needed to ask about the 'degenerated fire dragon', which did sound vaguely familiar, or this Thabes thing that I knew nothing about.

"Nothing you need to be concerned about. Hopefully." Xane closed his eyes, the most serious as I'd ever seen. "Tiki should be asleep by now."

" _We_ should be asleep by now." It was really late in the evening. Most were actually asleep. But I'd wanted to tell Xane or Bantu before I forgot.

"Regardless, I'll talk to Bantu about this. It's likely something we'll have to look into, but ultimately not something to worry about. It's just… odd, and unexpected." Xane shrugged and, while he didn't smile, he did relax. "Let Bantu and me handle this. If it becomes a bigger problem, we'll let you know. If worst comes to worse, though, we can just have Tiki take care of it."

"She's a child."

"She's a divine dragon child, whose power is designed to rip dragons to shreds. You could, in fact, throw her at Medeus, though I wouldn't recommend it. Her power might bite into his scales, but Medeus retains his intellect. Much better to go with the Falchion, if you can retrieve it."

"That's…" I fell silent, not sure how to explain how uncomfortable I felt. I mean; I was no stranger to danger, even as a child, but I'd been with this group long enough to know…

"You got to take what you can get, and that's just the worst case scenario. It's not all that likely. So, likely, she'll just be able to play and Bantu and I will take care of everything." Awkwardly, he reached out and patted my head. "I'll give you more information in the coming days. Try to wrangle those days?"

"It shouldn't be hard." Marth, Hardin, Camus, and Lorenz had already arranged to basically check in on the entire country, to make sure we didn't have more knights attempting to use villages as hostages. "We have to get Ymir acclimated to our strange army." Ymir, surprisingly, had decided to join up with us as thanks for coming to help the villagers. Sirius had been asked, but he'd refused, citing he was no soldier, and he could be a good decoy out in the port. He did, however, decide to stay the night to tell Nyna childhood stories and spoil the Grustian twins.

"Hello? You in there?" Xane grinned when I jumped. "Head to bed, Kris. You're exhausted."

"It's been a long day." I sighed, but nodded and hopped to my feet. "I'll go tell Marth what you and Bantu need to do, and then go to bed."

"That is a very good decision." Xane's form shimmered and suddenly, he looked like Jagan. "Now, get to bed, whippersnapper!"

"Jagan doesn't say 'whippersnapper'." Still, I had to laugh, and his form shimmered again before returning to his 'normal'. "Say, Xane? Is that form… uh… wait… hang on…" I had no idea how to word this, actually.

"It's the form I had when I was born, yes. I gained my ability to shapeshift as I do much later in life, so this is by far the most comfortable. But a little discomfort is always worth an advantage in battle." He winked, grinning. "Or, you know, a good prank. Sadly, my idea of a 'good' prank seems so different. Oh well."

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes and waved as I began walking. "Night, Xane."

"Pleasant dreams." He waved back before walking the other direction, muttering in some language I didn't understand.

I was half-tempted to ask him about it, but instead, I just kept on walking, all the way to the room that Marth used as a study. I opened it without knocking and, to my not-surprise, Marth was there. Working. "You know how late it is, right?" I pointed out to him dryly. He glanced up briefly and smiled before returning to his work. "Xane and Bantu want to look into something, so we'll need to stay a few days."

"That works out well, since we're staying for a few days anyway," Marth replied. He finished writing whatever he was writing and straightened, rolling his neck to try and loosen it. "The patrols around Grust will take some time, as will securing the ships we need to sail to Macedonia." He shrugged. "Besides, I think we need a bit of a break. It's been non-stop battles for a while."

"We do, truthfully. We'll need all of our strength." We were reaching the end of this. It was the last stretch. If we failed, everything would have been for naught. "We still don't have Falchion, huh?"

"Gotoh is in Macedonia. We have the orbs he asked for." Marth sighed. "It will be enough. If I don't believe that, then how can I inspire anyone else?"

"How about 'inspiring' Caeda?" I grinned at his yelp. "Sorry, but with the message delivered, I am on break. We're on break." I stole his papers and laughed as he tried to reach for them without standing. "So, I'm going to tease you."

"You always tease me!"

"Of course! But now I'm going to do it extra. It's what cousins do, right?"

"Ugh…!" He glowered. "Fine, but I'm going to tease you back!"

"I'd love to see you try!"

It ended up almost like a game, where we tried to see who could get the other to blush the most. I won, of course. Marth didn't know, yet, about my crush on Cain, so I had a distinct and totally unfair advantage. It was fun, though, and fun was something both of us needed.

* * *

 _Notes on Ymir:_

 _A giant of a man, easily the tallest in the army, who had no real home due to his sheer size leading people to dubbing him a 'monster'. The village he was defending were the first to treat him with kindness in a long while._

 _He's self-taught and it shows. Badly. However, he is very strong and he has the ability to take a lot of damage, so he's good at defending. If only he wore more armor._

 _He hunts and makes his own clothes from animal furs and hide. Surprisingly, he and Diana actually found some common ground on sewing. I don't even freaking know._

* * *

Author's notes: Okay, so resuming the author's note from last chapter. Full disclosure: when I first started this fic, I hadn't intended on writing an FE2 novelization. So, when I made my original plans and set up this fic (including having the multiple POVs to better justify the deviation), I wasn't taking FE2's plot into account, save for a couple of nods. Then Echoes happened, and I had to scramble to figure out a way to work in Zeke who, in canon, is an amnesiac Camus. Enter Sirius, Camus's very convenient twin brother who has mentioned sailing fairly frequently in his few appearances. So, Camus is sticking around with Nyna, and Sirius is going to go off to become Zeke for Echoes.

This Gaiden chapter is the second to last one Shadow Dragon has, and it's the last one that requires your army to have a certain number of units or less. There's really not a lot to it, plot wise or unit wise (it is a very easy map), though it does have a manakete unit for unexplained reasons. I used that as an excuse to bring in something from FE3/12. And a reference to Echoes.

Next Chapter – Interlude, Grust


	38. Interlude - Grust

Interlude – Grust

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _Given the very unexpected, and completely illogical, attack on a village, we linger to ensure that Grust would be safe. It had practical uses as well; no one wanted to have enemies at our back. That was why we'd gone to Grust in the first place, instead of securing boats immediately after we were done with the Fane. Of course, securing good boats to carry all of us also took quite a bit of time. So, we relax. We gather supplies. Once we've sailed, we'll be in Macedon. It was likely we wouldn't have much time, if any, to stop and regroup once there._

 _This could be the last break we had before the end of the war. That was strangely sobering._

* * *

"You're balancing quite well," I noted, watching Yuliya walk along the edges of a garden box. She, Jubelo, and I were walking through the gardens, enjoying the quiet. Yuliya showed off her balancing skills, while Jubelo held onto my hand. "I'm glad. You had trouble walking not too long ago."

"We've recovered very well," Yuliya agreed. She reached the edge of the box and hopped down to take my free hand. "Have… have Jubelo and I thanked you?"

"You have." Perhaps they hadn't in outright words, but I saw their gratitude everyday in their voices and smiles. "So, there's no need to try and be formal."

"I suppose." Yuliya fell silent and leaned into me. On my other side, Jubelo did the same, making it a little hard to walk. But I let them cling. I knew why they did.

Whenever we left Grust, likely within the next couple of days, they would be remaining here. It made perfect sense, and they'd be taken care of by a family trusted by Sir Lorenz, Camus, and them. Still, it was a very bittersweet feeling. I'd grown used to their presence. But in the coming battles, we really couldn't be looking after them. There would be simply too much chaos. We'd have enough trouble with Maria and Tiki.

"When things are calmer, I'll come back to visit," I promised them. They both nodded, accepting the words silently. "It'll be fun. You can show me how your health has improved, and how your lessons have progressed. You'll be taking magic lessons, right?"

"We will," Jubelo confirmed. He absently kicked a rock off the path as we continued walking. The flowers were pretty and smelled nice, but I couldn't identify any of them at the moment. "I'm going to train as a mage, and Yuliya is going to be a cleric. Master Wendell and Sister Lena already have teachers for us."

"We'll train very hard," Yuliya whispered. She held my hand a little tighter. "That way, we don't have to be…"

"Come now, you're still children," I chided. I stopped walking and knelt in front of them, still holding their hands. "Let the adults take care of you. You're still growing and becoming stronger. You'll be doing that for a long while yet." They both looked at each other before tackling me with hugs, knocking me onto my ass. "I've enjoyed taking care of you both as well, so don't feel you need to apologize. And if it's Camus making you feel this way, I'm going to hurt him."

"No, don't hurt him," Jubelo pleaded. He sounded close to tears. "We just…"

"I was joking. Well, unless you two asked." I did think I'd have a talk with Camus later about making sure he cleared the air with these two before we left. "But don't try to grow up too fast. You have plenty of time to learn." I smiled warmly at them both. "And if you do get in trouble again, I'll come running."

"Promise?"

"Promise." If Camus didn't beat me to it, at least! Well, no, I'd still come running. I'd just be behind him. "It'll be okay."

"K…"

They clung to me a bit longer before letting me stand up and continuing our walk through the gardens. When we came upon an open field just outside the gardens, we saw Maria making flower crowns. I nudged them to go join her, since they wouldn't be able to play together for a long while, and hung back, simply watching. I wasn't alone for long, though. Minerva must've been flying near because she landed not far away and dismounted.

"I'm surprised they're being agreeable about remaining behind," Minerva noted, walking over. Her wyvern stretched out lazily in the grass, perfectly content. "I'm so used to Maria being stubborn."

"I wonder where _that_ came from?" I teased, laughing. I laughed harder when she rolled her eyes. "Sorry, perhaps I shouldn't have."

"No, you're right. She does get it from Michalis and me. Not sure which one of us had the bigger impact. I'm also not sure where her sweet disposition came from either." She smiled slightly, but it was bitter. "Mother died shortly after Maria was born, and she was a standoffish parent before then, so I don't have many memories of her. Father was busy with the kingdom and also standoffish. Michalis and I were raised more by the servants than them. And we raised Maria."

"Interesting." I wondered how she ended up as a healer when raised by two warriors. Maybe she thought it was how she could support them. Or maybe Micky and Minerva had pushed her onto a different path? "Well, she has been a great help. Both as a healer, and as a mood lifter."

"That's true. I'd just rather she not have to deal with… any of this." Minerva sighed, and her smile became even bitterer as she looked at Maria, Yuliya, and Jubelo, all happily playing in the flowers. "This is what they should be doing. This is what they should've been doing. Playing about, laughing. Not be used as hostages and stuck in dank prisons. Not to see blood everywhere, to know the smell of death so well that they no longer register it…"

"Childhoods and innocence are the first casualties of war." Some part of me had always known it, but looking at the three of them, I felt it keenly. "They should be more worried about puberty. Though, Yuliya is actually worried about that."

"Is she?" Minerva frowned. "She's a bit young for that."

"Apparently, one of the palace healers told her…" I snickered as Minvera just instantly glowered. "I don't know names! She wouldn't tell me!" If she had, I would've already have dealt with them!

"Fine, I'm going to smack all of them." She rolled her eyes and I just snickered more. "Gods, let children be children! She doesn't need to worry about that! For fu…" She trailed off as she noticed the three children looking over at us curiously. "I'm just ranting. Go ahead and keep on playing."

"I suppose we probably should try to talk about happier things." I smiled softly as the three children did go back to their playing. "If only to make sure we don't ruin their mood."

"I suppose so." Minerva chuckled and nodded. "What should we talk about? You upcoming empty nest syndrome?"

"Hey!" I scowled and she laughed, but before long, I was laughing too.

I supposed she was right. I was nervous, leaving them. But this would be safer for them, and that was most important. I'd deal with the anxiety. That's what adults should do for children.

* * *

Something I made sure to do every day was try to talk to the Archaneans and ease their concerns about Camus. Sharing my observations, urging them to give him a chance for Nyna's sake… most glared and even spat at me. But I kept at it. I was the one who convinced Camus to surrender. I was the one who encouraged Nyna. So, I felt that I had to. It was my way of trying to protect them. I couldn't stop all the rumors and difficulties, but if I could at least convince these soldiers, who had fought for her for the past few months… hell, even years… if I could convince them to at least not make trouble, to give them a chance… that was worth any trouble.

This had the side effect, though, of me listening to people ramble about Camus. Which was fair. But gods above, when Midia got on a rant, she _went_!

"Just… argh!" Midia finally exclaimed, stomping her feet. I waited to reply, uncertain if she was really done. I'd spent the better part of _two hours_ just sitting here in some unused room and listening to her vent. I mended everything in the mending basket. "Why of all the people Princess Nyna could be in love with…?!"

"It's a question she asks herself quite often," I gently reminded. I still remembered how she'd cried, feeling like she'd betrayed everyone, but also being so very happy. "But…"

"Oh, don't think I'm going to sabotage anything. She's smiling, and I also faced some hell for choosing Astram. But Camus just… aggravates me… so much!"

"Because he beat you and was involved in the deaths of people you're sworn to protect?" He might've also been involved with her father's death, now that I thought about it, but I wasn't sure on that. This was also _definitely_ not the time to ask.

"Because he's just so damn apologetic and kind! I feel like I'm kicking a puppy when I try to yell at him! The jerk!" She threw her hands up with the words and I had to laugh. "Argh! What a nuisance!"

"We're working on the apologetic thing." Though, honestly, Camus's pride and stubbornness meant that was much harder than it sounded. "Regardless, that went long. Weren't we supposed to met Nyna?"

"Oh. Hell." She facepalmed and I laughed. "I'll take full blame."

"Right." I held out my hands and she helped me up. I staggered a bit as my legs reacted badly to the movement. "Ugh… painful…"

"I'm sorry." Midia let me lean on her as we walked out of the room and down the hall. "And here I was just ranting and rambling."

"You clearly needed it, and I have stolen your ear many times."

"Speaking of which…" Midia gave me a knowing look, and I groaned. I walked into that one. "Have you talked to Jeorge?"

"Not… really?" We had short little conversations in between duties, but we hadn't had a heart to heart since… since he promised to wait. "I've been more focused on-"

"On Nyna. Again." She poked my cheek and I made a face. "Not necessarily a bad thing, mind, but…"

"It was also Camus! And Yuliya and Jubelo!" I felt very, very defensive. "It was multiple people."

"That is true, and it was admirable, no matter what my issues with Camus are." She continued poking my cheek and I just accepted it. "This will likely be our last break for a while. If you don't say something now, I doubt you'll get another chance again until the war is over. You don't want something like that over your heads."

"Maybe." I didn't know what else to say. It was nervewracking, and I honestly thought I'd prefer fighting the dragon again than talk. "Might be a distraction."

"Might be a distraction if you _don't_ say anything. Besides, you have your answer. You and I managed to work it out."

"That answer had a lot of 'thinks' and 'maybes'."

"You'll take a gamble to save Camus, but you won't take a gamble for your own potential happiness?"

"I could control that gamble!" You couldn't really 'control' a relationship. "It needs a lot of work and…"

"Ah." Midia stopped poking me to hold up her hand in a silent 'stop right there'. "No, it's not. Oh, sure, there's compromising. There will be arguments. You're two people. But it's not _work_. It's things that you're happy to do. A relationship isn't easy necessarily, but it's also not something you have to constantly work on, like swinging a sword. It's something that flows rather naturally. You learn more and more about the person and each of you adapt to having each other in your lives. You'll clash, but make up, finding the compromises. That's what it means, really, to be in love with someone and to walk beside them."

"Um… that's…"

"It is a _commitment_ , but that's not necessarily the same thing as 'having to do a lot of hard work'. You're committed to guarding Nyna, but you find a lot of fun in it, right?"

"Well, yes…"

"Same concept. Slightly different setting." She frowned suddenly and almost stopped walking. I made her keep going, since we were almost at the throne room, where we were supposed to meet Nyna. "Wait, is 'setting' the word I want? Whatever. The point is that you're thinking too hard. It's not like the two of you will be all alone. I'm always here for an ear, and Astram… well, he's awkward, but he does know how to be a romantic."

"After a few hiccups. I heard some stories from Charles."

"The thought behind those hiccups were sweet." She sighed happily, and I chose to not remind her about the time he attempted to get her flowers, and somehow managed to get a bunch of poison ivy with it. Without noticing. Astram wasn't allergic, but Midia was. "I'm sure Nyna will also help, and Camus owes you like… a lot… so…"

"Okay, okay, I'll think on it!" I nearly breathed a sigh of relief as we opened one of the side doors to the throne room, because that it meant that I was free from the conversation. "Sorry, but that's the best you'll get for…" The reason why I didn't, and the reason why I trailed off, was because Nyna and Prince Marth were talking to someone. Someone noticeably older than them, wearing a dress that was deceptively simple. Someone with a calm smile and an aloof disposition. Someone with… with a face I knew well. It was older than what my memory said, more tired, and part of me wasn't even sure I was right since it had been many years since I'd seen it.

But the rest of me froze because it recognized the face. It knew the smile. It knew the disposition. This… it…it was Rosalind, my… my 'elder-elder' sister. My sister. Rosalind.

Someone said something. Maybe Midia. Maybe Nyna. I didn't hear because of the roaring in my ears and because I had to fight off the urge to run, throw up, and collapse, not necessarily in that order. It didn't really matter because Rosalind looked over to us, to me, and froze too. This was the first time we'd seen each other since she helped me escape the reception. I hadn't expected this. I wasn't sure why I hadn't even considered it, but of all the things that could've happened, I never…

"Kresimira?" Rosalind breathed after a long moment. She was as frozen as me, and I couldn't blame her. I looked… I was so different. "Kresimira, is that…?"

"Diana," I corrected automatically. Before her expression crumpled with disappointed, I made sure to add, "I go by Diana now."

"That's a lovely name." Rosalind smiled, and it trembled slightly. She was holding back tears. I could see them in her eyes. "Suits you better."

"Well, our parents were rather pretentious."

"Yes, they were." There was an awkward little bit of silence. Nyna, Midia, or Prince Marth did nothing to dispel it. Then again, all three were noticeably startled. I supposed I never did tell Nyna my birth family's house. "So…"

"Are you here to take care of Yuliya and Jubelo?" That was a topic I, at last, had some stable footing on, and I remembered how I'd gotten them to trust me initially because of my resemblance to her. "Heard about that."

"I am, yes. I've watched after them before, and they like us."

"In that case, come with me." I pointed to the hallway. "I think they're with Camus at this hour, but I can tell you about what I've been doing to care for them on the way, and about where they are healing wise."

"Of course." Rosalind's smile grew, though a tear did escape. "Tell me everything."

While I told her about Yuliya and Jubelo, I managed to weave in some bits and pieces of my new life. Rosalind responded in kind, telling me about the family. Our parents were dead, good freaking riddance, but the rest were alive and doing well. Perhaps when I visited Yuliya and Jubelo, I'd visit them too. Perhaps I'd reconnect with that past.

We'd see. There was a war to fight still.

* * *

Rosalind stayed for dinner, so I spent a while catching up and introducing her to people. The whole thing left me horribly jittery, to the point that even after everyone had settled in for the night, I was wide awake. Nothing I did helped me fall asleep. It didn't help that seeing Rosalind again brought back some old memories, which just made it harder to rest. After a while of tossing and turning, I gave up and got dressed again before going on a walk through the gardens.

I breathed in the scent of fresh flowers, enjoying the night breeze. I still knew none of them, but walking alone with no one to distract me… it made me remember that, once, I had known each one, and their meanings. Once, I would've happily told everyone I saw them, to brag and because I had enjoyed it so. Seeing Rosalind again made me acutely aware of just how different I was. The little!me would've fainted from all the blood I saw. The little!me didn't want to hurt a fly, and probably couldn't either. Back then, I had scoffed at the 'brutish soldiers', and did everything I could to keep away from them. It was almost amazing how much of a brat I was. Then my parents basically sold me.

Rosalind hadn't brought up that duke at all. Part of me wondered what happened. The rest hoped he was dead in a hole like my parents. Forcing a child who knew nothing… I hoped he was dead. I hoped I'd never have to see him. I was glad I'd never have to see my parents again. Though, I did have to admit that part of me had hoped, just a little, that they were still alive. That way I could've called them out directly, and rubbed my new life in their faces. I hoped they'd just be absolutely miserable, cut off from everything.

But, then again, it was probably a good thing that they weren't around. They were dead and gone. I could safely reconnect, if I chose. If. I honestly wasn't sure, and was more than a little scared. I was so different than the little girl who ran away, and I spent so long just running from everything that I couldn't remember a lot of things. It might be better just meeting and befriending them as 'Diana'. I wasn't sure, though. This might be a conversation for later, after the war.

After the war… it really was coming close. Conquer Macedon. Get Starlight. Kill Nefy. Fight our way through Dolhr. Kill Medy. That was it. That was all we had to do. Ha… 'all'… as if it would be that easy. But still, considering where we were two years ago… over two years… it seemed incredible really. How far we'd come? How far…

A whizzing sound gradually snagged my attention, and since I was just wandering about the gardens and thinking far too much, I decided to head towards the noise. Eventually, I made it to the practice yard, specifically where the archers had targets set up. Somehow, I wasn't surprised to see Jeorge practicing. He was the type to practice when no one could watch, so what better time than when everyone should be asleep.

He was so focused on his practice that he didn't notice me near. I honestly could just leave and he'd probably never know I'd been here. But I thought of what Midia said. She was right. I did have my answer, really, and there wasn't really anything holding me back but my own anxieties. She was also right in that this would really be the last time we'd be able to talk about things like this.

So, I waited. I waited for him to finish up training and turn to start cleaning things up. He caught sight of me then, though, and paused. He didn't say anything or walk over to me, but he did give me a confused look and waved to let me know it was okay to get closer if I wanted. I did so, and looked up at him. Still silent. He wasn't saying anything. He simply smiled at me, and waited. Just like he said he would. It made me smile back, and gave me that little bit of extra courage.

"I love you," I whispered. I did my best to look right at him, though my embarrassment threatened to have me look away. "I think. It's all still a little confusing, really. Mostly because I'm still a mess. And I probably always will be, a little, but, if you're willing…"

"I told you I was willing to wait," he reminded me gently. He even laughed. "I already know you're a mess. All of us are, really. It was my 'mess' that led me to push too hard."

"Right, so…" I rocked back on my heels, still horribly jittery. But now for very different reasons. "I'd like a proper courtship. A proper, and more than likely slow, courtship. So that we can learn to deal with each other's messes."

"And also not make Princess Nyna mad. I recall her telling me I had to properly court you."

"I vaguely remember that too." I found myself laughing. "But, I'm willing. Are you?"

"Of course." He took my hand, probably to kiss it, but I pulled him closer instead to kiss him on the mouth. He froze in surprise briefly before reciprocating, kissing me back gently and slowly.

This would be enough for us. It would probably be awkward and we'd probably trip over ourselves a few times as we figured out what worked and what didn't. But it would be enough for us. I was sure of it.

* * *

Author's notes: So here's an 'official' couple? Yay? Also, have Diana reconnecting to her past (her 'real' name was mentioned LONG ago, in Chapter 7. Coincidentally, the chapter where Jeorge joined, actually.) And yes, Yuliya and Jubelo will be remaining in Grust. I didn't mention it last time, but this is the last interlude for the story. Also quick warning: Shadow Dragon is sparse on plot anyway, and we're reaching the endgame, so chapters are likely going to be on the shorter side.

Next Chapter – Intermission, Royals of Hope (last intermission)


	39. Intermission - Royals of Hope

Intermission – Royals of Hope

* * *

 _Nyna_

* * *

She knows that she shouldn't be as happy as she is. She is writing letters to the families of the fallen. She should not be giggly or… happy. But she is. She is far too happy. She can't help it, though. She really can't.

"My, my, what a pretty smile!" Jeorge teases her. Diana is off with Camus and Minerva in the market, so Jeorge handles guarding her. "Thinking of your dashing knight in sable armor?"

"Hush, you!" she scolds, blushing. But she smiles. When she isn't being formal, she's always smiling. It isn't just that Camus is with her again. It's that it _happened_ , and for the first time since everything fell apart, she feels like it is safe to hope again. "I wasn't, anyway. I'm allowed to just be happy, yes?"

"Of course." Jeorge leans against the wall by her desk, looking out the window. "But it's not a 'just happy' smile. It's the same stupid-silly smile Astram and Midia wear."

"Hmph." She pretends to be upset, but she can't hold it long. "What do you think, Jeorge?"

"About?"

"Camus and me."

"I am ever loyal to you, Princess Nyna."

"That is why I ask you. I know that, unlike Astram and Horace, you will give me your absolute honest opinion."

"Well, that's true. I feel like that is a better show of loyalty than listening to everything." He shrugs, but smiles reassuringly. "He's a skilled warrior. You and Diana like him. His soldiers are more than willing to die for him. Princess Yuliya and Prince Jubelo adore him to bits. All of that points to someone with a good heart and a keen mind. He killed friends of mine. I killed friends of his. It's little different, really, than Princess Minerva. She and hers killed a lot of Duke Hardin's men, and yet, the two get along well. I figure I can show the same amount of respect, and trust in you and Diana."

"So?"

"I think you're fine, and you are in no danger of losing my loyalty, at least."

"Wonderful. I'd be worried about you and Diana if that were the case." She grins and giggles, feeling like she's back in Archanea's gardens, especially when he blushes, but grins. "I am quite pleased you are _properly_ courting. At least, it looks like it."

"It's very proper, though she did surprise me with a 'proper' kiss."

"Really?" That surprises her. From what she had seen, Diana grew terribly shy even when Jeorge simply kissed her hand. "Hmm…"

"It was probably just her emphasizing her feelings. I don't know." His soft smile shows he doesn't quite care. The two of them are together, and they will muddle through together. That is enough for him. "And that's all I'll say on the matter."

"Of course. I'll just get more out of Diana later." She giggles and he rolls his eyes. "Ah, the future looks bring, though…" She trails off, that old thought burning into her head. Jeorge simply waits. She thinks he might have already guessed. He is like that. "I'm not sure how good of an empress I'll be. I think, once Archanea is on its feet again, and settled, I'll abdicate." The idea is appealing. She certainly cannot abandon her home while it is hurting, but when it isn't? When it is safe again, prosperous again? It would be better to leave ruling it to someone who could do it competently. She's not sure who, yet, but she has time to think on it.

"You will forever have my loyalty, Princess Nyna." The words are comforting, because she hears the hidden meaning easily. 'I trust you.' That is why he is so loyal to her, even now. She hopes that she is finally proviing worthy of it. "Boah will be mad at you, though."

"He's already mad at me." It is a little heartbreaking, really. But she is secure enough to not let it falter her. To pursue another now would just be cruel, to herself and others, no matter what Boah thought. "Oh, but Midia has been…"

"She's annoyed, yes, but she wants you to be happy. Like most of us. You're fine."

"Thank you." She smiles and returns to her letters. She wants to finish these before they leave for Macedon. The words of 'better future' and the like come more easily than they used to. Perhaps it is because, finally, she believes in it too. They are fighting for a better future, and a better world, and they… they will succeed.

* * *

 _Marth_

* * *

Prince Jubelo and Princess Yuliya are the sweetest, sometimes. As he walks down the hall, he thinks of the luncheon he just had with them, and how cheerful they were. He can see the scars still, but they will recover. They will be fine if we left them here, though he's certain they're sad. They focused, however, on reassuring him with encouraging words. It's an amazing contrast, given that their father still refused to leave his room for anything. He wonders how they ended up so sweet, and he decides it must be because of Lorenz and Camus. Though maybe their time with their army also helped.

He chuckles, shaking his head, and stops by a window to look out. Almost immediately, he sees Cain and Kris sparring, so he stops to watch. It's fun, watching them, because they're both giving it their all. Though, as soon as they stopped, he knows they'll be awkward around each other until they find something serious to speak of. It is a common occurrence, nowadays.

"Ah, so our mage knight and our bull knight are practicing again?" Hardin walks up then, smiling. "No, don't give me that look," Hardin chides. "The soldiers call Cain the 'Bull', much as they call Abel the 'Panther'."

"I don't understand the nicknames," he admits, smiling sheepishly. He had been frowning. "But yes, they are. I imagine we'll see many try and squeeze in as much practice time as possible."

"True, we will be leaving soon, and once we leave, we won't really have time for _practice_." Hardin crosses his arms and watches the two as well. "Still, the two are rather obvious about their feelings. I wonder how long it'll be before they decide to try it."

He almost replies with 'I hope it will be soon', but he bites his tongue. Both are honestly balancing too many things as is, and he knows that Kris is still shaken by the revelation that she and he are cousins. He knows that Cain is still healing from the Gra's betrayal, and having to run while everyone died. Both unconsciously recognize they aren't ready for something like that. But he cannot say those things. Most are speculation, and some is secret. However, there are some things he can say still.

"No matter how flippant Kris acts, she can be quite serious," he murmurs at last. "So is Cain. With everything else going on…"

"They likely will simply ignore it for a while still," Hardin finishes. He nods, understanding. "A shame. It's fun watching."

"It's a shame I have to wait to retaliate in teasing!" He sulks and Hardin laughs warmly. "Two years worth of teasing I have to catch up on! Or is it three?" He pauses, desperately trying to think. "How long has it been?"

"Shorter than it feels."

"If we're going by how long it feels, I will be a little old man, wobbling around with a cane. You'd probably still be riding circles around everyone, though." It is honestly hard to see Hardin as anything but strong and steady. "You'll probably live forever, actually."

"Gods, I hope not. I'd rather not deal with the deaths of everyone I love and being the last." Hardin smiles, but there's something sad about it. "I'm more sensitive than I let on."

"It was more a compliment to your strength, but I understand." Even now, he feels the deaths of every soldier weighing his heart down. "How are you doing?"

"A bit tired, but ready for the end of this. I imagine like you."

"That is true, but I meant…" He struggles to explain, wondering how to word things.

Hardin, however, figures it out. "I'm fine, Marth. Hurting a bit certainly, but fine. Camus and I have actually become surprisingly good friends, considering everything, and Princess Nyna smiles. It's wonderful to see everyone smiling again, actually. I can't wait for the victory parties."

"If you're sure…" Still, he feels sad. He knows a 'perfectly happy ending', where everyone is happy and gets what they want, is nothing more than a tale, but…

"It's kind of you to worry, Marth. But I am fine, and I will be even better before long." Hardin reaches over and ruffles his hair. "Though, if you are bothered, you could attempt to flirt with Caeda again. That makes most of us laugh, and I personally find it hilariously endearing."

"Hardin!" He flushes and scowls, but as Hardin laughs, he joins in too. He's blessed with many friends, and he's blessed with Hardin's especially.

He looks forward to the future, with all these bonds guiding his way. Surely, it would only be a good one.

* * *

Author's notes: Yay, happy(ish) nobles! Or something. Last intermission and, really, last 'side thing' entirely. Just going to be game chapters from this point and, like I warned last chapter, we're probably going to have shorter chapters because we're _really_ sparse on plot from this point forward. It's basically "rush forth and kill the bad guys".

Next Chapter – Clash in Macedon


	40. Chapter 19) Clash in Macedon

Chapter 19) Clash in Macedon

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _We finally got the ships and so, sailed for Macedon. I spent most of the trip sick, of course. I'd probably never handle ships well. Still, once we landed, and recovered from the trip, we marched on, our forces bolstered by Grust's army. Macedon's army was already at the borders, though, ready to strike. Macedon intended to make us bleed and bleed while we made our way to Dolhr. We could only hope that they wouldn't weaken us too much. The fights with Gharnef and Medeus were on the horizon, looming over us all…_

 _That got dramatic. Damn it. I've been spending too much time with Linde._

* * *

The battlefield had to be one of the simplest we'd ever fought on, and that was saying something. It was a long stretch of plains, flanked by trees, with a single village tucked off to the side, likely there to help support the fort. Of course, that fort was currently fielding as many soldiers as possible to stop us, so hopefully, that village had been evacuated.

"So, here we are," Marth murmured. Reaching the first battle of the final stretch made Marth somewhat dramatic, and so, he stood apart, looking over the battlefield. I stood with him, mostly to make sure no enemies took advantage of the dramatics to snipe him with an arrow. "Was there no reply to the second messenger?"

"I would call 'nearly made our messenger catch an arrow with their face' is a reply, silly prince," I deadpanned. He laughed, but smiled sadly. "You can't have expected it to work."

"I knew they might not switch and join us, but I really had hoped to avoid more bloodshed." Marth closed his eyes and visibly hardened his resolve. "So be it. Macedon stands between us and Dolhr, and Gotoh is somewhere within the country as well. If we must fight, I intend to fight it well."

"Of course, pretty boy." I laughed when he made a face. "Look, this is one reason you keep me around. I make sure you don't get too self-important."

"I suppose." He sighed and turned back towards camp. From here, I could see Camus and Hardin talking, likely coordinating for the battle. Our strategy, like most, depended on an initial charge of our cavalry to tear through the enemy's front lines. "They seem to get along well."

"That they do." It was rather surprising, since Camus had been so recently the enemy and… well… Camus and Nyna were courting, and Hardin had a crush. But it seemed like Hardin actively tried to befriend Camus to move past it, and Camus respected Hardin in turn. "That's good. Can you imagine how awkward things would be?"

"I'd prefer to not think of that." He grimaced and I snickered. "I would really… oh." I almost asked what had distracted him, but it was clear very, very quickly what it was. Minerva had walked up. "Princess Minerva…"

"I see you wanted to look over the battlefield as well, Prince Marth," she replied, nodding a greeting. She was as calm and stoic as always, but there was something sad to her today. "You get a different view from elevated ground than you do from the sky. Thought I'd look."

"I understand," Marth murmured. He looked down briefly before returning his attention to her. "Perhaps this is rude, but Princess Minerva, are you certain you wish to join the battle? If you've any reservations about fighting your own country-"

"If I felt that, I would not have offered you my axe, Prince Marth." Minerva's words were gentle and firm. Her expression didn't even twitch. "I would have taken Maria away, and waited things out." She looked out over the field, noting the soldiers gathering in the distance. "Do you think I wish to spare my brother and former vassals, forgive them for seeing things differently?" She actually laughed. It was a bitter laugh, but it was definitely a laugh. "I would be lying if I said I didn't wish things were that simple, but it isn't. People are never that simple."

"Still, though, if it is too much…"

"Regardless of my choices, I am still Macedon's princess." She still spoke easily, without the slightest hesitation. "History needs to remember that when Macedon went astray, it was a Macedonian who set it back onto the proper path."

"Even if your own brother dies?"

"Michalis made his choices. I've made mine. Not all siblings are lucky enough for their paths to parallel each other." She smiled kindly at him. "I hope we find out about your sister soon. There's been far too many rumors." She watched the soldiers in the distance for a while longer before leaving without a word. Camus and Hardin drew her into their conversation easily, and if you didn't know her, you'd think there was nothing wrong.

Of course, we had traveled with her for quite some time, so Marth and I knew better.

"She's hurting," Marth murmured sadly. I knew it hurt a lot, because Minerva reminded him somewhat of his sister. "She's hurting a lot."

"She is." I could see the others also keeping an eye on her. I knew they were making sure Palla, Catria, and Est were also okay. That's just how this army was. "But we can't stop her. It'll be rude."

"Of course." Still, he winced. "How's Maria?"

"Diana, Lena, and Nyna have been with her all morning." That was all I knew, sadly.

"Okay." He turned back to the field, dark and sad eyes already seeing the dead. "To Macedon's fall, I suppose."

"Yeah." It would, unfortunately, fall far. "Here we go."

* * *

The Macedonian were fierce and tactical fighters. Their priority was our archers, and they actually managed to get a lot of them to fall back with injuries. Once that was done, they prioritized the Archaneas, likely because of grudges. But, honestly, the thing I had to hate-admire the most was how… well, our plans only accounted for the soldiers, for some reason. But they shouldn't have. The wyverns and pegasi fought just as fiercely as their riders. We actually lost a lot of soldiers to those without riders, defending their fellows and their riders' corpses to the death. Literally.

I wasn't sure how we missed that. Maybe it was because we normally just let Minerva and the Whitewings do their own thing and they were distracted enough by everything that they forgot to warn us. I had no idea. The result, though, was that the battle lasted longer than anticipated, and that was particularly bad for we three mages in the army.

"Merric, how are you holding up?" I asked, stumbling back from casting another Thoron spell. Our job had been to use our 'special tomes' to help with crowd control. Linde and I blasted holes in the main lines, while Merric tore through the skies. "Merric?"

"A moment," he gasped out, struggling to stand. Sweat had plastered his head to his skull, and he was deathly pale. I thought I could actually pick out the little veins in his face. "Ugh…"

"Might need a new tactic." I jerkily threw my arm around his shoulder and let him lean against me. My knees almost buckled from the additional weight, but I held. Barely. "Linde?"

"I'm better off that you two," Linde replied, pushing her hair out of face. Considering that she looked like death warmed over, though… well, that didn't make me feel better. "I'm just single sniping, unlike you two."

"Yeah," I sighed, resting my cheek against Merric's head as he struggled to breathe. I didn't care about the sweat. I was certain we'd never get it out of these clothes anyway. "Damn, how many are there? Did they put the full army here?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. It's not like we have many options for battlefields." Linde sharply gestured, killing another enemy soldier with Aura. Her hand shook. "Merric, seriously, are you okay? You've been burning the most magic of us."

"Got a few more left, I think," Merric managed. He tried to straighten, but couldn't. My arm around his shoulder was too much of a weight. "Maybe."

"Is that 'few' accounting for you surviving?" Linde snapped. She gestured again, killing another enemy leader. I awkwardly moved my tome to my other hand to shoot off another lance of thunder magic. My arm burned from the effort. "Ah, the skies…"

"They have too many fliers." Merric gave up straightening, and instead, brought his badly shaking hand up to cast Exaclibur in a 'wide burst'. That was why this was more draining on him. "So…"

"Tag, I'm it." Xane appeared out of freaking nowhere and nearly took three powerful spells to the chest. "Easy, easy!" he yelped, bringing his hands up. "I'm just here to relieve you."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. He gave me an incredulous look and it still took a moment to remember. "Can you use the special spells while shifted?"

"I can trick them, yes. So…" He easily took Excalibur from Merric's hand and shifted his form into Merric. "You're under orders to sit down and rest. Wendell is apparently very worried about all three of you."

"That is… so weird." I sat down hard right where I was, and accidentally dragged Merric down with me. He didn't even protest, just curled up in my lap. "So, battle plan switched up?"

"Just a little." Xane-Merric began casting multiple big-Excaliburs to take out enemy fliers, and waved Linde down when she tried to assist. "Nope, nope, you're to rest. Orders. _Healers_ ' orders at that." Linde nodded and sat down next to me. I rested my head against her shoulder, and she rested her head against mine. "But yes, slight change which should show up… now."

Right on cue, twin roars shattered the air. Bantu and Tiki entered the field in their full draconic glory. The Macedonians, perhaps because of their proximity to the land of dragons, didn't even flinch, though. They just switched their priority targets from 'archers and Archaneans' to 'archers and dragons'.

"I'm not sure if I admire their bravery or curse their stubbornness," Linde murmured, watching the battle. Xane-Merric focused on a few more Excaliburs. "This is…"

"You'll be surprised how much that summarizes humans," Xane-Merric commented. He cast Excalibur one more time, clearing the skies except for our soldiers, and then shifted back. "That should be enough." He tried to pass Excalibur back to Merric, but I took it instead. Merric belatedly flailed a bit before shrugging and curled up more in my lap. "Let's see if the wyvern princess can pull this off like she says."

"The… are you talking about Minerva?"

"Yes." He pointed to the lone wyvern in the skies now, arcing around the battlefield. Red armor sparkled in the sunshine. "There."

In silence, or as much silence as you could have on a battlefield with two dragons, we watched Minerva suddenly dive into the chaos. One breathless heartbeat later, she emerged, dragging several bodies with us. Her wyvern screeched and she dropped the bodies, flying high above everything while splattered with the blood of her enemies, her own countrymen.

Somehow, despite having seen it so many times, I couldn't help but feel saddened at the sight, especially when the Macedonians began surrendering. Whoever she had killed… no, perhaps it didn't matter _who_ she killed. It had been her, and that made them give up.

* * *

After the battle, Merric, Linde, and I were confined to the infirmary for a good few marks, under observation due to magical fatigue or something. I spent most of it napping in an effort to escape the smell of blood and whatever else was around, and to escape the screams and sobs of the wounded and dying. I only woke up when Lena shook me awake and told me I was free to leave. Linde was also 'cleared', but she stayed to help out. Merric was to stay overnight.

When I left, I checked for Maria. I learned from someone, a person I didn't know the name of, that Maria had been forced to rest and Diana was looking after her. After all, no matter how resolved someone was, she was still a child and she was a healer at that. She had to heal people who killed her countrymen, and who were wounded by the same.

War sucked. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about that.

"Thank you for helping me do laundry," Caeda murmured, skipping along the hall. Though it had been quite a few marks since the battle's end, the healers were still working, so their normal chores were divided amongst everyone else. Technically, I was 'exempt', but since I was clear, I decided to help Caeda. "It would have taken a long time without your help!"

"Why does everyone have so many clothes?" I complained, trying not to drag my feet too much. My hands felt raw from all the soap and scrubbing. "Why?"

"We are a very large army, Kris."

"Don't use logic when I'm this tired!" I groaned and rolled my shoulder a few times. I was stiff beyond belief. Who knew laundry could be so labor intensive? Though, it wasn't helped with the battle earlier. "Ugh…!" A quick look out the window showed the sun was setting. "We did laundry for how long now?"

"It's best not to think on it."

"Who does it normally?"

"Lena and Diana." But Lena was still working, and Diana was helping in the infirmary, if she wasn't watching Maria or Tiki. I assumed the former, though, since she could've probably have done laundry while watching the two token children in the group. "I should bake something."

"Will you bake for the army or just us?"

"It depends on how much can be spared, if anything." Caeda frowned a bit and skipped ahead to turn and face me. "We have to be careful about food supplies. We might be able to restock once Macedon falls, but once we're in Dolhr…"

"We can kiss any luxuries goodbye." Well, there would be alcohol. I could easily imagine people having a drink before the final battle.

"Speaking of kissing…" She smirked and I was filled with a sudden sense of dread. "So, Cain?"

"That's…" I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I winced at the tangles I found; I needed to brush it. "There's too much going on. Everything is a mess." If I tried to add one more thing, I swore I was going to just collapse. I had no idea how people balanced all of this. Maybe it would make sense when I was a little older.

"I understand." Caeda smiled sympathetically and returned to my side to nudge me. "It's why I haven't told Marth, you know. He has so much to think about that I cannot bear to add one more thing to his load."

"And here I thought you were just shy." I grinned and rested my head on her shoulder briefly. "I'm so tired. But we're almost done."

"Then the real work begins. Reconstruction."

"Ugh…" I pouted and she smiled and poked my cheeks. "Why did I ever get involved in this? I could've just been robbing people blind."

"You regret it?"

"Never. But I can complain anyway." At the sound of footsteps, I frowned and tensed up, reaching for the sword I didn't wear. But it was okay, because it was just… a surprisingly excited… Marth.

"There you are!" Marth exclaimed. He wore the brightest smile I'd seen in a long while. "Gotoh contacted me!" He slung both arms around Caeda and me, tugging us into a mildly awkward group hug. "He knows where Elice is!"

"He does?" Caeda gasped. I just stared for a moment, stunned, before smiling. It seemed rather convenient, but hey, why should I care if it was? "Oh, that's wonderful! Is she safe? Is she with him?"

"Sadly, she's not with him, though he does theorize that she is safe." Marth pulled away, still beaming. "Apparently, Medeus needs her for a ritual, so Gharnef has her as a bargaining chip. So, as soon as we're done here and get Starlight…"

"We can rescue her and deal with Gharnef in one stroke!" Caeda bounced on her toes and I stepped back a bit, just… watching. It was fun, watching them. "Perfect!"

"So, where are they both?" I asked, deciding to somewhat keep things serious. "Is it on the way?"

"No, but Gotoh reassured us that he will arrange things," Marth explained. His cheer did fade slightly, but not a lot. Something told me he'd be cheerful for the rest of the day, at least. "He's preparing things now. They're in Thabes, the city of illusion."

"Thabes?" I knew that name. Xane had mentioned it once. …Wasn't that north of Khadein? That was… oh, shit, we last saw him in Khadein. It made perfect sense. "Well, why don't you spread the news? I'm sure Linde would love learning of the extra motivation to kill Gharnef."

"We have even more." Marth's smile grew, but this one was weightier. "Gotoh confirmed that Gharnef has the Falchion. With one battle, if we're lucky enough…"

"We're going to steal three baubles with one pick." I grinned as they tried to figure out just what I said. "Go spread the motivating news. Minerva will be glad to hear it as well."

"True." Marth shyly offered his hand to Caeda. "Shall we?"

Caeda, of course, took it and they darted off. I watched them leave before going down a different hallway and heading straight for Xane's room. It took a couple of tries to find it, but when I did, I saw he and Bantu were discussing something. Both fell silent, however, when I came in, Xane curious and Bantu reassuring.

"Apparently, Gharnef is in Thabes," I explained. I found another chair in the room and sat down in it. "What can you tell me?"

"Of course he would, the dramatic," Xane groaned. He and Bantu shared an exasperated look. "Okay. Here's what we know."

This was going to be a hard few weeks. I could already tell.

* * *

 _Notes on… uh… wait, no one joined us for once. I don't know what to write here. Well, this is awkward._

* * *

Author's notes: The conversation with Minerva only triggers if she's fielded on the map; otherwise, it's just Malledus and Marth mentioning that they sent a messenger and received no reply. Technically, there's one more thing Minerva says here, but I felt it was better suited for the next chapter, both because of what is said and because of who the POV char is. Thabes was previously mentioned in 18x, as a reference to Echoes.

Next Chapter – A Knight-Filled Sky


	41. Chapter 20) A Knight-Filled Sky

Chapter 20) A Knight-Filled Sky

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _The Macedon Minerva and Maria remembered was a peaceful country. But now, it's not. Their brother decided to throw his lot with Dolhr and now, we've come to battle. There's no way this is going to end without tears. Whoo boy..._

* * *

The day we fought Michalis, Minerva was so distracted that she accidentally ripped her shirt because she managed to somehow pin it to her wyvern's saddle. She didn't want anyone to see she'd done that, so she came to me to get it fixed. I didn't ask how it all happened. I just smiled and began mending.

"So, you and Jeorge are together?" Minerva teased, sitting backwards in the chair. I looked up and grinned at her before returning to her shirt. "You know; I expected it to take longer."

"We're going slow. Ish," I explained quietly. I blushed when I thought of the lone kiss we had. That had definitely been too… forward. But I loved his hugs, and the kisses on the hand. Even if the thought alone turned me into a blushing mess. "We're making it work. It'll be a mess. But a fun one." I focused a bit on a difficult stitch before deciding to tease her. "What about you? Has anyone caught your eye in the army?"

"No, and considering the track record of…" She paused, debating something, before shrugging. "Palla and Catria have unrequited crushes. Est is going to leave service to be with the man she loves."

"Do they know it's unrequited?"

"Catria's in love with Marth." She smiled bitterly when I choked on a startled laugh. "Palla's in love with Est's new lover."

"Oh, shit." That had to be awkward. "That's some luck."

"Worst part is that Est has no idea. They're all sisters, but they're all _bad_ at communicating with each other." She sighed, and her smile fell. "Not that I can talk, mind."

"How are you doing?" I paused in my mending and decided to switch to a different stitch for this next bit. "About Michalis?"

"Don't you normally call him 'Micky' or something?"

"I can if it'll make you laugh." But looking at how hard this was on Minerva and Maria? I just couldn't bring myself to use the nickname. Not now. Maybe never again. "So?" She was silent for a long while, but I waited patiently for her answer.

"Since I was little, I always chased after Michalis." Her voice was very quiet as she began explaining. "He was always one step ahead. Better, stronger, faster…"

"He's older, yes?"

"Yes, so he had more experience, but he also just had talent. He…" She sighed and rested her chin on the back of the chair. "He was my hero. Even now, some part of me loves him. So, I want to spare him a death on some stranger's blade. Let me be…"

"You're going to go right after him, are you?"

"Of course." She hesitated a moment and, in that moment, she looked strangely fragile. "Will you keep an eye on Maria during the battle? And after?" She laughed mirthlessly, looking down. "I'm not sure she'll want to see me, after this."

"Don't underestimate her love for you." Still, I did make sure to smile at her. "But yes, I'll keep an eye, if you promise you'll look after yourself. Take an evening off."

"That's… Michalis and I will never be siblings again." She smiled bitterly. "But I guess I could get drunk and mourn. I don't know what to do about Macedon, though." She drummed her fingers against the back of the chair. "I don't know how to rule. That was always Michalis's thing."

"I wish I knew how to help."

"Well, come save me if I manage to spark a revolt." She said it like it was a joke, but her eyes were too sad and serious for it. She was genuinely afraid, but couldn't show it.

Still, I'd play along. "I'm not much of the knight in shining armor. Might be better to get Prince Marth on the rescuing." I winked and held up her shirt, checking the stitching. "There we go. Good as new."

"Thanks for that." She took the shirt from me and pulled it on again. I checked to make sure the repair wasn't noticeable still and nodded. "Really, thanks."

She left then, without another word, and I slowly put up my sewing kit. Though, in the middle of that, someone hugged me from behind. I looked up to see it was Jeorge. "Everything okay?" he asked softly. I didn't know how to answer, so I just leaned into him and closed my eyes. "Minerva's hurting a lot, isn't she?"

"She is," I confirmed. I reached up to grip his arms. "I don't know what to do."

"Sadly, I don't think there is anything to do, but give her the support she'll need when she inevitably buckles."

"I suppose." I sighed and shook my head. "Are you busy?"

"Nope. Not until the battle. You?"

"Same." I looked up and smiled at him. "How lucky."

"Lucky indeed." Carefully, he kissed my cheek and my face burned with a blush. "Very lucky."

Jeorge and I spent the rest of the morning cuddling, talking of nothing. It was a good way to distract ourselves.

* * *

The battle was gruesome. Attacks from above, from all sides… the infirmary was overflowing within seconds of combat. I was afraid of the number of dead. Macedon was going to leave its mark, and I was genuinely worried that we might not have enough to fight Dolhr. But, as it was, I had my hands full keeping an eye on the healers, doing triage, dealing with a couple of fliers that made it past the defensive line, and… well, trying to keep Maria from breaking down.

"Diana?" During one of my few breathers, Maria tugged on my shirt to catch my attention. She was splattered with blood, and it was going to take quite a bit of scrubbing to clean her dress. "Lena and Nyna won't answer my question," she complained, pouting slightly. I wondered briefly where Wrys was, but decided to not focus on it. My charges were the ones in this tent and that was Nyna, Lena, and Maria. Unless Wrys was the champion of hide and seek and I needed to find him, he was not my problem. "Why are Minerva and Michalis fighting?"

"Well, that's…" I began. I could see why Nyna and Lena refused to answer. It was a complicated question. "They disagree."

"But they've argued in the past and always made up!" She rested her forehead against me. "I don't understand."

"...I don't know how to answer you, Maria." I ruffled her hair, wishing I could take away the pain. "I'm sorry." Desperate to do _something_ , I wetted some towels and crouched in front of her. "Hold still. Let me clean your face."

"Okay…" She closed her eyes to make it easier on me. "Back to work?"

"Back to work." I finished up and hugged her briefly. "Go on."

She nodded and darted over to some badly bleeding soldiers to get back to work. I winced when some of the blood spurted over her face again, but shook my head and took another of the wet towels to Lena and Nyna. They would need to clean up soon, after all. It was dangerous for a healer to be dirty.

"I'm tempted to send Maria into a different tent for lesser wounded," Lena murmured when I came close to where she was sitting and working. She gladly took the wet towel I passed her and sat still as I braided her hair back. Her earlier braid had fallen out. "Or just have her rest. This has been horribly hard on her."

"How are you doing?" I asked quietly. When she finished cleaning her hands and face, I took her used towel to get the worst out of her hair and off her neck. Her dress was going to be a pain to clean later. "I know you're not as close to Macedon, but…"

"The only family I have is Matthias, and he's with us." She tilted her head back to look at me. "I'm okay. Well, as okay as a healer can be, during a war."

"Of course." I used the only clean bit of the towel to get a few patches of blood that she had missed. "Need anything?"

"No, not right now." She smiled warmly. "Thank you." And she leaned forward to work again on whatever was wrong with the soldier on the cot in front of her.

I tossed her used towel into the corner with the other soiled clothing and carried my remaining wet towel over to Nyna's work station. She didn't react when I approached, focused on stitching a soldier's arm up. I didn't know who they were, but I did notice they were rather young. I had a bad feeling they were one of the many who claimed to be older than they were, so that they could volunteer for the army.

"I wish we would have a moment to breathe," she sighed when she finished, taking the towel from me as she sat back in her chair. After cleaning her hands, she reached up to undo her bun, shaking out her hair to try and avoid it matting from the blood. I took over to pin it up again, to get it off her neck. "I'd love to just tease you or something."

"Careful, I tease back," I joked. I kissed the top of her head as I finished up with her hair and gave her a hug. "We'll tease each other in the morning. I'm sure you'll pass out before you can even give Camus a victory kiss."

"Diana!" She managed a tired laugh and worked on wiping the blood off her. "How's Maria?"

"She's as to be expected." I leaned down to hug her and she leaned back into me, taking the comfort. "I'm far more worried for after the battle." In the worst case scenario, Maria would lose _both_ her siblings. "You need anything?"

"Some more thread. I used my last."

"Got it."

I got Nyna her thread, as well as some water for all three of them, before stepping outside to get some sunlight and fresh air and to make sure no enemies had gotten through our defensive back line. I could see Ser Lorenz, Draug, Roger, and… those Archanean knights I could never remember the name of… regardless, I could see all of them were holding strong in the distance, so I looked up to make sure that no fliers had escaped our archers. They hadn't, but I did see two fliers not all that far away, all things considered. Close enough to hear and close enough to figure out small details. One was Minerva, with her red armor glittering in the sunlight. The other was a man with impossibly long red hair, dressed in black. Michalis. Minerva had found him.

"Here you are, Michalis," Minerva began. Her voice was soft, carried more by the wind than anything. "I've been wondering where you were."

"And I've missed you, Minerva," Michalis replied, barely loud enough for me to hear. I could hear the pride in his words and I almost thought he was mocking her, but somehow, it also seemed genuine. "Let us embrace one last time, yes?"

"Michalis…" Minerva, for her part, was hesitant. No matter how much she braced herself, this was her brother and she had loved him. "You…"

"Well? Strike!" Michalis glared and his wyvern growled under him. "A moment's hesitation spells death on the battlefield. I know I taught you better."

"Will you not just set down your lance and walk the right path?" Minerva leaned forward slightly. I half-thought she'd hold out her hand to him, but she didn't. She just gripped her reins and weapon as tightly as possible. "I know Father's death weighs heavily on you, but…"

"Don't speak of that fool. He would've let us all starve by honoring oaths to those who do not care." He scoffed and shook his head. "There is no 'right' path. We are not children. There is only my path and yours, and this is where we part."

"...So it is." Minerva settled back and brought Hauteclere up. "Very well. Embrace you, I shall!"

They crashed into each other and all I saw was the blood. Blood was just… everywhere. Streaming down their armor, dripping off their wyverns, flying off their weapons… every movement just resulted in more and more blood. If I were a more poetic person, I might have described it as rose petals or some nonsense. But I wasn't, and all I saw was pain.

A tiny gasp made me whirl and, to my absolute horror, I saw Maria. She'd stepped out for whatever reason and now could only stare, wide eyed and pale, while her two siblings, the siblings she loved and adored beyond anything, did their level best to slaughter each other.

"Michalis!" she screamed, running forward. I had to catch her to make sure she didn't go too far. "Minerva!" Her voice cracked and broke at the force of her screams. Her siblings, though, continued fighting. "Stop! Stop this! Why are you…?!" She tried to escape my grasp, but I picked her up and carried her back towards the tent. "Why…?!"

"They disagree on the best path for Macedon," I whispered. I set her down again and turned her to face me, doing my level best to shield her from the fight. "That's all."

"So?! They've disagreed in the past! Why can't they…? Why do they have to…?" Maria broke down in tears, clinging to me. "Why?" She continued asking and crying, and I had no answer, so I continued holding her, letting her cry and preventing her from seeing the fight.

I didn't look up until I heard heart wrenching screams and victorious cheers. I didn't see Michalis. All I could see was Minerva, dripping with blood, flying alone in the skies. Even from here, I could see she was on the verge of a breakdown. But I knew, by the time she landed, she would've hidden all the pain. She would be the stoic victor. Because it was her duty.

I hated all of this.

* * *

"Cider and whiskey?" Hardin noted, sipping the drink. Camus and I were settled in, drinking our own drinks. Camus made sure mine was way more cider than whiskey, because of my lack of alcohol tolerance. "It's good. Never had it before."

"It's a popular Grustian drink," Camus explained, downing the last of his easily. He set about making himself more. "So, of course, we've got plenty of both in our supplies. What do you drink typically in Aurelis?"

"Typically ale, truthfully. We're a simple people." Hardin glanced at me. "You okay?"

"I'm totally fine," I reassured. I'd been surprised when they'd invited me, but I had to admit this was nice. "Completely. No need to worry."

The three of us were settled in some unused room in some abandoned manor. There had been talk of using the castle, but the servants' cold reception told us that it would be easier, on everyone, if we just took advantage of the empty houses. Michalis had, apparently, ordered the evacuation of the entire city, so there were plenty of places to pick. And now, the three of us were drinking because that's what most of the soldiers were doing.

"How's Princess Minerva doing?" Camus asked, settling back against the pillows. All of us decided against chairs and just cobbled together some comfy mess of pillows and blankets so that we could sprawl out and stretch our legs. "Is she okay?"

"Last I checked, she was drinking with her Whitewings," I replied, swirling my drink in my glass to mix it a little better before sipping it again. "Maria's with Lena." Nyna was handling the infirmary with Wrys and Wendell.

"I am a bit surprised it came to this." Camus frowned thoughtfully. "He was always the 'odd' one in the group. He was never on anyone's side and never cared who knew it. He aligned himself with people who could help him further his goals."

"I wonder what made him decide Dolhr was still the better option," Hardin murmured, finishing his drink off. Camus made him another one. I was still nursing my first. "Could it have been magic?"

"I think Gotoh would've dispelled it, if so," Camus pointed out. He passed Hardin the new drink and shook his head. "No, I think it is just a very good play of the board, so to speak. Gharnef is a master manipulator."

"That's true." Hardin took a large gulp of the new drink. I eyed him warily, and a bit enviously. I wished I could handle my alcohol that well. "But we'll be dealing with him soon, yes?"

"That's what I heard from Kris," I answered. Gotoh had appeared while I was helping in the infirmary, so I got it all secondhand. "We've got Starlight. Though, I have no idea why that spell would be any different from, say, Aura."

"How's the scar on your back?" Hardin asked, gesturing vaguely towards his own back for emphasis. At Camus's frown, he shrugged. "Did she not tell you about how she got hit with Imhullu?"

"Grazed. I got grazed." I maintained perfect dignity while Camus choked on a yelp, and his drink. "Wouldn't have happened if people thought to watch out for the girl who lost her father violently. Why was that? I never got an answer."

"I think it was a case of everyone thought someone else was doing it and then no one actually was. In my case, I assumed Wendell was. I think he assumed Princess Nyna was." Hardin smiled as Camus finally stopped coughing. "Recovered? I'm guessing she didn't."

"Diana _never_ talks about her injuries," Camus explained. I smiled innocently and he rolled his eyes. "During one of our sparring matches, she got a bruise the size of her fist and didn't mention it once. And then I accidentally hit it a second time."

"You're making it worse than it is," I complained. I scowled when Hardin and Camus exchanged an exasperated look. "Oh, whatever. So, we have Starlight." Though, apparently, the Starsphere shattered because of it. Hell if I knew why that happened, though.

"So, in the morning, a small group will be warped to Thabes to deal with him."

"And the rest of us will stick around to finalize preparations into Dolhr." I drank the last of my drink and grimaced when my vision spun a little. "Ugh… I think I'm tipsy."

"From so little?" Hardin laughed, far too amused. He patted my back sympathetically and I sulked. "Here, we should probably get water anyway to work. Let me help you to your room. Camus?"

"I'm pulling a shift in the infirmary," Camus explained. He smiled apologetically, probably for putting 'too much' alcohol in the drink. "I'll walk with you until then."

"Sounds good." Hardin helped me up and my vision spun again. I felt very, very floaty. Ugh… "This way, Diana. I'm sure you'll be fine with a bit of sleep."

* * *

I wasn't the only one who ended up drinking too much. Minerva ended up passing out from the amount she had and I assisted Palla in carrying her to her rooms. Palla remained to fuss over Minerva, and I went to check on Catria and Est. Catria was in the stables, tending to all the pegasi and wyverns, though it took longer to find Est. She was curled up in Abel's room, crying into his chest while he comforted her. I lingered only long enough to catch his eye and confirm she was okay before leaving to go check in on Maria. According to Lena, she had cried herself to sleep, so she should've been in bed. In her room. Turned out she was neither. So, that was how I ended up racing about the city at a far too late hour, trying to find a little princess.

"Okay, this is the last place," I whispered, wandering into the church. It probably should've been one of the first places I checked, except it was a good distance away from where we'd been staying. "Maria? Maria, are you in here?" If she wasn't, and I didn't find her on the way back, I'd have to recruit people to try and find her. "Maria?" My voice echoed in the empty halls, and I had to fight back a groan. "Gods damn it all." I brushed my hair out of my face and looked down. Then paused when I noticed something. Blood. Quite a bit, and leaving a definitive trail.

Slowly, I followed the trail, noticing how odd it was. A lot of smearing, like something was dragged, but also with large droplets, like something was walking slowly. Had someone wounded been carried-dragged here? Why, though? Why not just come to…? Well, if it was a Macedon soldier, they just might've decided that death was preferable to our help. It wasn't the most logical, but they hated us. They hated us for killing Michalis and they hated us for 'invading' their country. They might hate us enough to be illogical about injuries.

I followed the trail to a back room and pushed open the half-closed door. To my surprise, I found Maria there, tending to someone's injuries. A someone wearing rich, black clothing that was ripped to reveal gaping wounds. A someone with impossibly long red hair, still long even when matted with blood. A someone whose face bore a strong resemblance to Minerva's…

It took all of that to finally process that she was tending to Michalis. A still breathing Michalis, despite all the wounds and despite the fall from a no doubt great height. And when I realized that, I had to stagger back a bit and accidentally bumped the door frame.

"Who's there?!" Maria gasped, whirling towards me. She blinked slowly when she saw me. I just stared back, noticing how red and puffy her eyes were. "Diana…" Michalis coughed wetly and she briefly returned her attention to him before coming back to me. "I…" She hesitated and, after a moment of looking between Michalis and me, finally just… "Please?"

"...Let me make sure I shut the front door," I whispered. This was stupid. This was beyond stupid. But I couldn't say no. Not when she looked like that. "This is a church. There should be medical supplies. I'll hunt it down."

"Thank you!" She beamed at me, and a few more tears slipped down her face. "Thank you!"

"I'll be right back."

I made sure to actually bar the doors from the inside, just in case, before scouring the entire building for every trace of medicinal thing I could find. Then I carried it all back to Maria, and then set up a little cleaning station for her. I tried to keep away from the blood, only helping when she directly asked. I knew triage and basics, but he was definitely beyond basics. I honestly couldn't believe he was alive at all.

"What were you even doing out?" I asked quietly after a while of working. It was late. I was exhausted. But she worked feverishly, never faltering once. "You were supposed to be asleep."

"I woke up and looked out the window to see if seeing the city would help me calm down," she murmured. Her staff flickered a bit, a sign that it was losing strength. " And I saw Michalis's wyvern flying about and I just…" She shrugged. "I went. And I found him. His wyvern helped me get him inside, but he's bleeding so much…"

"I see." I wiped off some blood from her face and made her pause so that I could clean her hands. I glanced at Michalis and I gasped when I noticed he was stirring. "What the…?"

"Michalis?" Maria leaned over him, frowning worriedly. Michalis stirred a little more and I ducked back to not be seen. I already felt awkward about this. "Oh, gods, please…"

"Mar… Maria…?" Michalis finally coughed, his eyes fluttering open. He squinted at her, like he couldn't quite see her or like she was just too bright to look at. "Why…?"

"It's okay, big brother!" Maria chirped, smiling brightly at him. It didn't really hide her tears of relief. "You'll be okay. I'll make it better!"

"You…" Michalis lifted a bloody hand to stroke her hair before passing out again. Just a brief bit of stirring. Just a little bit to show that he was alive.

"That's a good sign!" Still, Maria had renewed hope and energy and she went right back to work. "Let's see…"

"Well, that was unexpected." I walked over again and, after a moment, decided to just clean the cuts on his face. "So, what's the verdict, miss healer?"

"I think he'll recover!" She giggled, delighted, though she did become sad very quickly. "But after what happened…"

"You and Michalis decide whatever you need on that." There was _no way_ I was offering advice. "Do you still need my help?"

"Mmm… no, from here, I think I can handle it…" She looked up at me pleadingly. "Would it be okay if I stay here for the night?"

"...Yeah, I'll tell them you're praying for Michalis." It wasn't a lie, after all. "I'll come get you in the morning."

"Thank you!" She paused to take my hands. "Really… I…"

"You're fine." It wasn't like you could order a healer to not heal someone. It was kind of their _job_. So, I just smiled and kissed her forehead. "In the morning."

"Okay." She went back to work, and I tidied up the area and myself before leaving the church entirely. I still wasn't all that comfortable with any of this, but what else was I supposed to do?

Still, I did feel a moment of panic when I saw Jeorge resting against one of the buildings across from the church, clearly waiting. When he noticed me, he walked over. I made sure to shut the door behind me, just in case he saw the blood trail. "You're not the praying sort normally," he murmured. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and we walked down the road, back to the manor. "Did you make an exception?"

"No, Maria is there," I explained. I pulled my cloak a little more firmly around me, to hide whatever blood I might've gotten on me. I couldn't tell anyone this. I really couldn't. Nice way to start a relationship, keeping secrets. But this wasn't mine to tell. "She's praying for Michalis."

"Must be hard. They say his body wasn't found."

"Maybe his wyvern took it off somewhere." I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know what to do. I just..." I went looking for her and then I helped her because I couldn't… "This is all a mess."

"It is." He tightened his hug on me briefly, and I knew he knew I was talking around something. But he wouldn't push. I was _so_ grateful for that. "Astram and I are still awake. Want to share stories and gossip?"

"Sure." I made sure to smile. "But no alcohol."

"Of course." He kissed my temple and I went bright red, as per usual. "Astram and I aren't really drinking either. Too tired for it."

"I see." I tugged on his scarf, frowning. "You're in the group that will go after Gharnef, yes?"

"Parthia is good at combating mages." So, yes, he was. "I'll be fine."

"Of course. I'll steal your scarf if you don't." I grinned and he laughed. "To stories, then. Let's figure out how we'll tease Astram."

"Sounds good to me." He caught my hand and kissed it, lingering a bit. I could've practically lit up the night with how brightly I was blushing. "Let's try to have a bit of fun after a long day, yes?"

* * *

 _No one joined. Macedon's soldiers give us cold glares, so I'm not sure any will actually help us. They loved Michalis and we're the 'villains' in their eyes. We're Archanea, who ignored them, and we slayed their hope for the future. The coming years are going to be rough for Macedon, no doubt about that._

* * *

Author's notes: FE3/FE12 reveal that Michalis actually survives this battle, due to Maria's kindness. Since this is actually a pretty important plot point (as in, this tiny act actually helps the heroes _win_ in FE3/FE12), I wanted to make sure it was shown. Similarly, FE3/12 revealed that the Starsphere broke into twelve star shards (which boost growths in FE3 and boosts stats in FE12, providing they're in the char's inventory).

Minerva's talk of always chasing after Michalis comes from in-game dialogue, as well as her Heroes dialogue. The talk she and Michalis have is based on their battle dialogue (funnily enough, Michalis has the most boss dialogue out of anyone in the game, though only one will trigger during the chapter apparently; but he has his normal dialogue, plus Minerva, Marth, Maria, and the three Whitewings).

Next Chapter - Dark Pontifex


	42. Chapter 21) Dark Pontifex

Chapter 21) Dark Pontifex

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _Macedon was conquered, and we obtained Starlight. With the aid of Gotoh's warp magic, which would've been way useful a while ago, a small group of us was transported to the faraway city of Thabes. According to Bantu, it was once an advanced civilization. Now? A ruined wreck. And in this wreck, Gharnef waits with the Falchion. But we're ready with Starlight, because Starlight can counter Imhullu, for some reason. It was as baffling as why Gharnef would be here at all, aside from dramatics. Though, apparently Gotoh was going to check on 'something' in 'the labyrinth' while we dealt with his mess, I mean, Gharnef. Bah… this is annoying and lame, too many questions and secrets. But hey, we get to kill Gharnef, who started all this mess. Yay?_

* * *

I wondered what happened to this place. If it was a prospering city at some point, then how did it fall? Our small group walked through lifeless streets, past worn and weathered buildings slowly being devoured by the desert. In fact, most of the city already was taken by the sands. We were walking in the sole part still visible. In a few decades, or centuries, the entire place would be buried, lost forever.

"I feel like I'm walking through a graveyard," Linde whispered, tucking herself into my side to leech a little bit more warmth. Perhaps it was because we left so early that the sun hadn't quite risen, or maybe it was just something about the area, but everything was damn near bone-chilling cold and there was barely any light. We had all dressed lightly, expecting the desert heat again, so the cold was even worse. "I also feel like a ghost is going to pop out at any moment."

"Well, with luck, we'll be adding a ghost to the pile," I replied lightly, mostly to avoid being creeped out. I… didn't like ghosts all that much. "Well, you'll do it."

"Yes…" She clutched Starlight to her chest, smiling slightly. There had been a long debate on who would wield it; Merric and I had both argued for her and eventually won. "Do you think we are a large enough group?"

"I hope so." I looked over our little group, wincing at how small we were. "I really freaking hope so."

Marth was here of course, and Caeda skipped along next to him, both perfectly silent. Jeorge, surprisingly, was with us; apparently, the Parthia was particularly suited to fighting mages. I didn't know much, but Merric babbled something about the Parthia having extended range, could boost the user's resistance, could heal the user, and maybe a couple of other things. Merric was chatting with Jeorge now. Lena was also here, because we weren't foolish enough to go to a battle without a healer and she had the best resistance to magic, and she was walking alone, checking her medicines and staves. That was it, though. No one else. We had to be the stupidest people in the world.

"Say, Kris?" Linde began quietly. She looked suddenly shy, glancing down. "How do you know if you've got a crush?"

"...Why are you asking me?" I replied, voice going a little high because of how incredulous I was. That was more something people asked Caeda, not me!

"Because?" She shrugged, still not looking at me. "So?"

"Er… There's a bit of awkwardness, I suppose. There's a feeling of butterflies in your stomach?" This was definitely not what I expected today. "There's a warm feeling, I suppose. Though, that one might be attraction of a different sort."

"Have you had many crushes?"

"Well, I've had a few. They were all surface things, though, more or less based on how they look and how they acted when I happened to see them." Cain was probably the first crush I had gotten on a friend. But, then again, I hadn't had a lot of friends. "They felt a little different depending on if I was crushing on a girl or a guy."

"Girl or guy?"

"I like both. I get crushes on both." Considering the guy to girl ratio of the army, I supposed it wasn't too much of a surprise I happened to have a crush on a guy for the time being. We really needed more girls in the army. Then again, it was a little late to change things like that. "Why are you asking anyway?"

"N-no reason!" Her face went bright pink and her voice went squeaky. "Um… ugh, fine. I might have a crush on someone." Her eyes darted over to where Merric was still happily talking with Jeorge. "But I don't really know? I never had conversations like this before or anything. I didn't care when I was younger, and the past couple of years…"

"Please tell me you know where babies come from."

"I got _that_ awkward talk when I had my first period. Mostly because I panicked and thought I was dying." She grimaced. "Father didn't think to warn me about that part of puberty."

"Seriously?" Grandfather had thought to tell _me_. "Wow, that's awkward."

"Isn't it?" She giggled and I had to muffle my own laugh. We didn't want the others to think we were insane. "Oh…" She stopped walking, and tugged me to a stop as well. It took a moment to realize the others had stopped too, and the reason for that. "We're here."

"So, we are." I looked up at the temple, now at the foot of the steps that led to the entrance. Of course, it hurt my neck to look up at it because it was just so damn tall. It stretched up to the sky, like a spidery, skeletal finger pointing to something. Parts of it were gouged out, the edges smooth and rounded. There were intricate carvings, but weathering had worn them down to simple shadows, impossible to tell the details. I wondered who made this. I wondered why.

"My, my, have you come to play, little Marth?" A dark voice echoed all around us then, sourceless and endless. "I've been waiting." It was slimy, oily, like a fast talking con man selling you poison instead of medicine. "I have wanted to give you my thanks."

"Your thanks?" Marth repeated. He drew his sword, and Caeda stepped next to him with her Wing Spear at the ready. Jeorge looked up, one arrow casually dangling from his fingertips. Lena looked like she was praying. Merric stepped over to Linde and me, his own staff in hand. "What for?"

"Why for helping me, of course." A dark laugh oozed its way through the air. There was still no source for the voice. It was everywhere and nowhere. "You've been dancing about the continent, gaining powerful weapons, dealing with my competition. A shame you somehow learned of my hostages and spared Camus, but I at least no longer have to deal with Michalis. His pride overcame even his ambition, thankfully."

"Monster…!"

"Am I? I didn't put the thoughts in their heads." There was a pressure in the air, bearing down on us. It felt like someone resting their hand on your shoulders, in order to shackle you in place. "Camus willingly bent knee for his precious prince and princess. Michalis willingly killed his father. I did nothing but set up the board, and watch the pieces move as they wish. Rather like you. And now you can do me one last favor." The shadows started flickering around us. All of us tensed up, prepared for anything. I hoped. "Die for me, will you?"

"I'm afraid I've got different plans today." Marth shifted into a stance at last, eyes narrowed in determination. "We're here to take your head, Gharnef, as well as retrieve Falchion and rescue Elice."

"My, my, such loft goals." The laughter came again, wobbling in time with the shadows. "But a simple battle is too boring. If you mean to harm me, then you must find me."

"What does that mean?" For once, there was no answer. "Gharnef!"

"Look alive, Prince Marth," Jeorge scolded. He was completely nonchalant, his eyes darting this way and that to take in everything. "We've got company." Just as he finished the sentence, the shadows grew and twisted into humanoid shapes. Each one took the form of some corpse-looking male with really bad hair and worse clothes. I could hear Diana screaming over the fashion emergency. "Wow, someone Diana would scold more than me on fashion choices."

"That's Gharnef…" Linde breathed. She then growled, eyes sparking in quiet fury. "He's created illusory copies to wear us down while he waits in the crowd. Bastard."

Well, no one said this would be easy.

* * *

There were way too many stairs for this place. My legs were killing me and I was the athletic one of us three. Merric and Linde nearly fell a couple of times, too tired to move properly at this point. But we couldn't stop. After all, then others were playing bait and, hopefully, not dying or breaking their few weapons fighting all the copies. We had planned for a fight, certainly, but not… quite like this. And if not for us getting _absurdly lucky_ days ago, we might be in an even worse situation.

It turns out that green sphere Julian and I found in the Fane could create damaging earthquakes. We found this out because Marth had forgotten to take it out of his pack after giving Gotoh the orbs to make the Starlight spell and you activated it via throwing it hard on the ground or, in our case, throwing your pack to the side because it kept getting in the way. Now, the earthquake hurt us quite a bit, but hilariously, it hurt all the copies too. Every. Single. One. Since the thing that made Imhullu annoying as hell was that it prevented the user from being hurt, we automatically knew Gharnef wasn't actually any of the copies.

So, the three of us snuck around all the traps and whatnot to head for the top. Either Gharnef was there being dramatic, or we'd get a good look at things. At least, that was the theory. These stairs might kill us first.

"Oh, thank freaking everything, we're at the top," I breathed, stumbling a bit on the suddenly level ground. Of course, at the other end of the hall, I could see more stairs. "It's voting time. Do we explore this floor or head up higher?"

"No more stairs!" Linde groaned. She whimpered and leaned against the wall to bring up one of her legs and massage her calf. "Holy… ow… how does Gharnef make it up all of these things? He's _old_."

"You've seen Lorenz trounce people in spars, right?"

"He's an old _mage_. Aside from you, we're not exactly known for athletic prowess."

"Can't he just warp everywhere?" Merric pointed out tiredly. He scrubbed the sweat off his face and sat down on the top stair to massage his own legs. "I can't feel… wait, no, now I can. _Ow_ , pins and needles. Like I sat down studying for ten hours again."

"Warping is cheating," Linde groaned. She switched to massaging her other leg. I worked on stretching and checking the area, just in case. "Wait, Lena has a warp staff. Why didn't we use _that_?"

"Lena has to know where to send you, so it either has to be in sight or a place she has been. The top of the tower is nowhere." Merric smiled slightly. "But, also, he uses Imhullu. He's a 'cheater' by nature, clearly."

"Damn right." Linde sighed and rolled her shoulders. "I think I'm as recovered as I can be?"

"I think I am as well." Still, Merric groaned when he stood up again. "I feel like an old man. Like Master Wendell when the rain is bad. Kris? How are you?"

"I'm a bit stiff and annoyed, but I can keep going," I answered easily. I smiled sheepishly at their dirty looks. "I've been stretched and, as you pointed out Linde, I am more athletic. I'm sure I'll be complaining tomorrow, but we're exploring this floor?"

"For now, yes," Merric confirmed. He checked that he had Excalibur still tucked under his arm, as well as his healing staff. With Linde as our main damage dealer for the fight, and me not knowing staves, Merric had the unenviable job of trying to keep us alive. "Gods, I hope he didn't move downstairs to among the shadows."

"If he is, I hope we have a balcony or something that'll let us just snipe everything from above." I looked around again, noting that we were already at the end of a hall. The only ways to go was straight, to the stairs, or left, to explore. "I'll take point."

Carefully, we walked forward, making sure our weapons were at the ready, just in case. I made us pause at every little possible oddity, just in case. But, strangely, there weren't any traps. You always heard stories about how old ruins were filled with traps, but not this one. Did Gharnef disable them? Did time rust them over? Had there been any? Traps implied that you wanted to keep something safe, something locked away. Had there been anything like that here? If not… er… I didn't know where to go with that thought. Before I could think of a direction for the thought, we stepped into a large, open room and, right in the middle of it all, was Gharnef.

"Ah, so this is why you triggered the Geosphere," Gharnef noted with a dark chuckle. The three of us exchanged 'sure, we can go with that' looks. There was no need for him to know it had been a complete and total accident. "I do not know two of your number. But I remember you, little girl." He pointed to Linde and smiled patronizingly. "You challenge me again? You must not value your life. You will cower before the might of Imhullu again, just as your father did."

"Not this time!" Linde snapped. She opened up Starlight with shaking hands, glaring. "You're just a corpse lingering past its death, and I'm happy to correct that anomaly!"

"You may try, little one. But you will-"

"Why are you all trying to imitate a bard's song?" I sighed. I tossed out one of my 'gifts' and ignited it with a quick thunder spell to create a smokescreen. "Linde, go ahead and charge up. Merric?"

"I'm with you!" Merric replied. He smiled warmly. "You're the bait, though."

"Yep." And if I got hit once, I might die. This was the worst. "Linde, make sure to hide, and don't falter, no matter what."

I drew my sword and charged then, darting to the side so that I could hopefully ambush and get a decent strike in, Imhullu or no Imhullu. However, as I got close and swung, a clawed, skeletal hand made of black flames shot out from the smoke and caught the blade. I stared in horror as a face suddenly emerged, flames stretched taut over it like twisted skin, and eyeless sockets staring at me. It opened its mouth, with too many teeth to be human, no matter what the face looked like, and it tried to bite me. I threw myself back automatically and the thing twisted my sword out of my hand… and then threw it straight at me. I rolled out of the way and the sword clanged on the ground next to me, _still_ close enough to nick my shoulder.

"Smokescreen? That's a clever little parlor trick." The smoke gradually cleared away, revealing a still amused Gharnef. Patronizing. He wasn't taking us seriously at all. Arrogance was a nice way to catch someone off guard, but for one, I couldn't blame him for being arrogant since he was literally invincible save for one thing he didn't know we and and, for two, _it was still damn annoying_. "But Imhullu does not suffer fools who attempt to match it. It is derived from part of the power that sealed away the dragons. You think you really have a chance?"

"Well, it's better than looking at your ugly face," I growled. I swung about to my feet and loosed a Thoron spell at him. To my surprise, he brought up his hand and _caught_ it, like it had been a simple and badly thrown spear. "Uh…"

"Not badly cast, for someone so obviously self taught." He twisted his hand and threw the Thoron back at me. I rolled out of the way. "Your magic clunks a bit. You never had a proper teacher. You stumbled and flailed your way through."

"It's served me well so far."

"Of course." He suddenly grinned, the expression splitting his face. "But it makes you so _easy_ to toy with."

"Par-GUH!" Pain exploded in my back, through my back, through my stomach. Coughing and choking on air, I glanced down and saw a blade sticking out of my gut. It took a very long second to realize it was my own sword. He'd thrown it through my back somehow. "I…" I ground my teeth, tears pricking my eyes as the pain truly registered past shock and fear spiked through me. It didn't help that I coughed up blood. "You…"

"It is _adorable_ to see you trying so hard." Gharnef paused and looked to the side. "The wind… ah!"

"Excalibur!" The wind blades of Excalibur sparked into life, battering Gharnef. The skeletal flames wrapped around him to protect him from the strikes, but Merric used the distraction to race past. "Sorry for the delay," he whispered. Without hesitation, he grabbed the blade and pulled it out. I gasped in pain and tried to not buckle. "Linde needed help hiding. She's almost ready to cast the spell, though."

"To be fair, it's been what? Six heartbeats?" I gasped out. I coughed up a bit more blood, and spat out more after he healed me up. I still rested a hand on my gut anyway, an instinctive response. "Well, it could be more. My heart is pounding."

" _Your_ heart is? Mine is trying to outpace a stampeding horse." Merric tensed as black flames devoured what remained of Excalibur. "What sort of twisted mind comes up with a spell like this?"

"There is always balance in the world," Gharnef replied. He brought his hands up and the flames grew around him. I felt nauseous when I saw the twisting, skeletal arms clawing up through the flames, a mockery of a human. "Where there is light, there is shadow. Simple. You may see for yourself." He gestured sharply, and the black flames of Imhullu raced for Merric and me, clawed into our legs and began to climb...

"Divine radiance, heed me!" But then light sliced through the flames, erasing it from existence. It spun about, brightening the room, but not harshly. It was a strangely gentle light, the same light you had at night during a moonless night. It sparkled as it eradicated Imhullu and, distantly, I wondered how that light could hurt.

Then that light converged on Gharnef, multiple rings tearing through, and his screams of pain made it very clear that, yes, the light could hurt. It was a spell, after all.

"What…?" Gasping in disbelief, Gharnef clawed at his body, like he was trying to stop the injuries. But with each moment, he fell apart more and more, with not a speck of blood in sight. "Where did you get Starlight…?" His shock faded for a mad bit of laughter, the shaking causing him to crack more and more. Literally. "What fools! Your power is no match for Medeus! So I will wait!" He reached out with flaking, clawed, skeletal hands. The skin had already sloughed off. "I shall be waiting in the pits of the inferno!" His face split with a grin, the skin cracking and falling off to reveal ghost-white bone underneath. "For when he sends you to join me!"

He cackled. He cackled and cackled, the sound raucous as it bounced off the walls. It continued even after his body crumbled into dust, to the point that even when the silence rung through, I swore I could still hear it. But even eerier was that there was really was nothing left of his body. To confirm it, I stumbled over on my bleeding legs and stepped on the pile of robes left behind, frowning as I didn't even find a tome. There was nothing but dust. That was… in the end, Imhullu turned him into something no longer human. I'd feel bad if not for the whole 'he literally decided to use the tome because he got passed over for another tome' thing. Of course, that was assuming I'd been told the truth and that I'd heard correctly. I never cared.

I _did_ care about Linde suddenly collapsing, worried she'd been injured, but she hadn't. No, she was simply bawling, overcome with the knowledge that she had finally avenged her father. Without a single bit of hesitation, Merric badly bandaged up his legs and hobbled over to her to pull her into a hug so that she could at least cry on someone's shoulders. I thought about joining, but instead looked around to make sure we were fine. My attention fell to the throne nearby, wondering why it was there. Why would a temple need a throne, after all? Though maybe that was why this place was abandoned and ruined now. You always heard the stories of hubris. Though maybe this hadn't been a temple. Maybe it had simply been a… really weird… I didn't even know.

Shaking my head, I sighed and crouched down to bandage up my own legs, wincing as my back and abdomen reminded me that they had been stabbed. As I did, though, I caught sight of something shiny tucked where the throne met the wall and, as soon as I tied off the bandages, I snatched it up, curious. It was a very dark gem, almost pitch black like it swallowed up light, but with a strange 'flame' to it that made it shimmer between black and purple. It was a pretty, if a bit off putting, and automatically, I started to price it. It would likely sell for _quite_ a bit. Though, you'd have to hide where it came from likely. And you'd want to sell it to someone easy to steal from, so that you could steal it back and continue making a profit…

I stiffened, startled by the thought. I… well, I had pulled that sort of con in the past, though it wasn't my typical thing. I preferred not getting involved with people, and the con had made me feel all icky and gross. But I hadn't thought about cons in a long while. So, I didn't understand why… sure, Julian and I had _joked_ about it, but… Ah, but what if this was a 'special' gem like the Starsphere or Geosphere or… whatever? It could be. It wasn't like Gotoh actually told us a gods damned thing. He just let us do all the hard work, pushing us this way and that, like pieces on a board or like toys he didn't particularly care… about…

Now I pinched the bridge of my nose, wondering what was wrong with me. Yes, certainly I was a bit annoyed with Gotoh about keeping things quiet, but honestly, there wasn't much time for anything. It was annoying how little time we had. We fought and fought and fought and when we weren't fighting we were training. There was so little time for fun or flirting. I could actually pursue Cain and see if this crush would fizzle or turn into something more if it weren't for all my damned duties and having to serve my silly, stupid, oblivious pri-

I threw the gem then. I wasn't sure why, exactly, but I felt _so much better_ as soon as I did. Well, actually, I didn't. I felt gross. I felt like I needed to take a thousand baths and claw off my skin. I felt like I needed to crack open my skull and dig out parts of my mind. I felt like something had sunk its claws deep into my _soul_ and left jagged pieces of thoughts that I didn't want. How could I…? Those thoughts… how could they be mine? I didn't… I…

"Kris?" Merric called. I whirled, wincing as my legs protested. Linde had stopped crying at some point and was helping Merric with his injuries. "Is everything okay?" He peered at me worriedly. "You froze up and then suddenly threw something."

"It's nothing," I lied through my teeth. I felt like throwing up. "I thought I'd vent some frustration and threw a rock. I'm not having luck finding anything yet."

"What are you looking for?"

"Falchion." I hadn't, but it was a good idea, so I began poking around the throne and room, hunting for the fabled blade. I could feel Merric watch me worriedly, but I remained stubbornly focused on the task, just so that he couldn't call me out.

However, my frustration only grew as I found next to nothing, save that no one dusted this place in a long while. Eventually, I returned to the throne and got on my hands and knees to look underneath. Lo and behold, that's where I finally found the hilt of a blade. Feeling a bit smug and triumphant, I snagged it and tugged it out with enough force that I actually rolled and nearly dropped the thing on my face. But I held onto it and held it up, intending on studying it. But then I heard a slight hum, felt my teeth buzz, and again, there was the presence of something in my head. It was quieter than the last one, but no less unnerving.

What the _fuck_ was wrong with these things? Gods, this was lame.

* * *

After getting our wounds treated, and the battle fever faded for horrible and hobbling pain, the three of us limped our way back down the far too many stairs to rejoin the others. As soon as we killed Gharnef, the copies all died as well, so they were tending to their own injuries. Marth was fussing over Caeda, mostly because Caeda had gotten fairly badly hurt protecting Marth. I dragged my sill… I dragged pretty boy away and distracted him by melodramatically presenting the Falchion to him.

"Finally, we have it…" Marth breathed, holding Falchion up. Despite the dim light, the blade sparkled, glowing with an internal light. "The sheathe?"

"It wasn't there," I replied dryly. I leaned against the wall and glanced at the others. With the worst of the wounds tended to, Lena focused fully on comforting Linde alongside Caeda. Merric and Jeorge had gone to search around and try to find Elice. "So, I hope you don't particularly like your belt, pretty boy. You might want to consider going pantless as well to avoid cutting them."

"Ah, yes, let's go fight Medeus in nothing but my underwear."

"You could wear a tunic, or a dress." I smirked. "I'm sure Diana can make you a pretty dress."

"I don't have the legs for a dress." He grinned at his own joke and I did manage a laugh. "But that's neither here nor there. "Are you okay?" Marth crouched down a bit to peer up at me. I wasn't sure why at first, but then realized it was because I kept looking down. "You're off."

"I'm just a bit tired, and in a bit of pain." I gestured to my legs for emphasis, still bandaged because they resisted healing magic. That worried me a lot, since the final battles were coming up, but… "Does the Falchion buzz for you?"

"Buzz?" He frowned and glanced at the sword. "No? Did you?"

"Maybe it was rejecting me, then?" I shrugged and smiled, or tried to. The thoughts I had early… they really did make me feel uncomfortable. I wanted to deny them, especially those last ones, so damn much, yet I… "But really, pretty boy, it's nothing. It was just a very tiring, somewhat unnerving fight. I'd never fought someone I couldn't hurt before, and I did have my own sword thrown through my gut."

"Okay, fair." He still frowned a little, like he knew I was talking around something. But he shrugged and smiled, deciding to simply take me at my word and do his best to cheer me up. This was why I adored him, and why I was _proud_ to fight alongside him. But those thoughts… "Wait, did I give a melodramatic answer to your presentation or did I just take the sword?"

"You just took the sword."

"Then I need a proper reply." He hummed a bit in thought, and I had to snicker. "My dearest companion, savior of my life, guardian of my sanity-"

"What sanity?"

"Shush. Drama." He scowled and I began laughing. "You can't laugh. This is super serious."

"Sure it is."

"It is _most_ serious, actually. If Jagan was here, he would scold you severely."

"Now that's a horrible fate right there."

"Prince Marth." Thankfully for any sort of dignity Marth and I might have left, Merric walked up then with a bright smile, escorting a woman with long, tangled blue hair. I… I knew her. She was thinner than last time, paler. Her dress hung loosely and her eyes were puffy. Her smile was thin and tired. But it was warm and it was real. She was real. She was really here. "She is insisting on talking with you before letting Lena check her over," he explained. Marth, for his part, stared like a dummy. "Er… Prince Marth?"

"I think he went into lala land," I deadpanned. I nudged his leg and after getting no reaction, I rolled my eyes and outright shoved him. He yelped and stumbled, but Elica caught him and the two clung to each other tightly. "There we go. Merric, I'll make sure they don't suffocate each other with their hugs if you want to rest."

"Probably a good idea, since there are far too many stairs." Merric made a face and gestured to his legs. Since he'd removed the bandages, for whatever reason, I could see the injuries were angry red lines that half looked like they'd shatter. "She was in a room _above_ where we killed Gharnef."

"Yeah, go rest. Mine are still doing fine." I nudged him over to Lena and then rested against the wall, relaxing. I knew how much it had hurt Marth to not reunite with his mother. I was glad Elice was okay.

Eventually, Elice pulled away, smiling even as tears slipped down her cheeks. "Oh, it's been too long," she murmured. "Here, let me look at you…" She cupped Marth's face, studying him closely. Marth was also crying, but smiling. "Goodness, you're a man grown."

"Oh, I've still got quite a bit of growing to do," Marth replied. His voice wobbled a bit from the tears. "I'm so glad you're… "We heard a couple of rumors, but there was nothing more than that. I thought…"

"I was prepared for the worst, but Gharnef required someone of royal blood to wield the Aum staff." She smiled bitterly. "I do not know what made royal blood more special than any other, but I have that to thank for my life and the chance to see you again."

"The Aum Staff? The one that brings back the dead?" Marth frowned. "I thought it was a tale."

"Apparently not. It's in Dolhr. You're heading there, yes?"

"Of course. I must deal with Medeus."

"Then we should retrieve the Aum staff along the way, just in case." Her smile softened and sweetened, but there was a very familiar stubborn light in her eyes. We shouldn't even bother pointing out that she could stay somewhere safe. She would come with us, end of discussion. "Perhaps…"

"Perhaps we could bring our parents back…" Marth also smiled softly, but I frowned. That wasn't… "Or… how many people can the staff-?"

"It wouldn't be enough to resurrect everyone who died because I highly doubt that's possible," I pointed out bluntly. I crossed my arms and… tried to appear stoic. I wasn't sure how good of a job I did. "In which case, how do you decide? Do you bring back your parents? What about Nyna's? What about other people's parents? What makes…?" I almost asked 'what makes yours special?', but the answer to _that_ was obvious. They were theirs. "Sorry, I probably should word this better."

"You're pointing out that it's unfair," Marth summarized neatly. He smiled so sadly, so bitterly, that I wished I'd kept my mouth shut. "And you're right. It is. To just bring back our own… that isn't right. I am to be king. I must share my people's sorrow, not try to erase it solely for myself." He closed his eyes and I winced. I really did wish I'd kept my mouth shut. "Still, I don't like the idea of it just lying around."

"I'm sure it's on the way anyway, or that we can make it. We can still get it." I sighed, wishing I had worded things better. "Oh, whatever. I'll give you a break on teasing. Let's see if we can tease Jeorge."

Anything was better than continuing that conversation, and we needed to wait for Gotoh to transport us back anyway. Then, it was to Dolhr and the final battle. I hoped it was easier than trying to forget that clawing in my skull. I really hoped that was the case.

* * *

 _Notes on Elice:_

 _Marth's older sister, the calm and collected princess of Altea. Thought dead or worse after the fall of Altea, but was kept alive due to her ability to use the legendary Aum Staff_

 _A talented healer, though spending years in captivity have severely hurt her physical condition. She can be a powerhouse, but since we're so close to the end, it might be best to have just another healer. It's not like you can have too many healers, particularly when we're going to be fighting dragons._

 _Very protective of her little brother, even as she acknowledges his duty puts him in harm's way. She was prepared for the worst when she stayed behind as a decoy in Altea, and would've happily accepted that fate so long as Marth was safe._

* * *

Author's note: Elice technically joins next chapter, but we're adding her notes here. Have the second-to-last Kris chapter. Yep, Kris is bisexual. In FE11, the Geosphere deals a flat 13 damage to all enemies on the map, making it very useful for determining which Gharnef is the real one in this chapter (in FE1/3, it damages all units on the map, which I have kept because I felt it made more sense in this context). And a bit of foreshadowing involving having that dark gem here… maybe more than a bit. It doesn't appear in Fe1/11 at all, but since it plays such a huge role in FE3/12... well... yeah.

Gharnef himself isn't that hard of a fight, or at least, I've never found him hard. Without Imhullu's damage-negation abilities… well, on normal, his magic is 5. Now, Imhullu is powerful (14 might), _and_ no one has any real resistance, but still. That's only 3 higher than Linde's starting magic when she's a _level one mage_. (It's 2 higher than Merric's starting magic. At the same level.) He does have a stupidly high speed stat, though (18 on normal). That all being said, I did want to play up that damage-negation, specifically how unnerving it would be, and play into how Gharnef was/is a talented magic user taught by Gotoh. 'Divine radiance, heed me' is one of Linde's skill quotes in FE heroes.

Elice joins with low bases and underleveled, but her growths are the best out of any magic user in the game, meaning that if you put in the effort (not as hard as it sounds, since her A rank in staves lets her use practically any staff in the game). If you level her up, she'll likely be your fastest magic user. The Aum staff is locked to her in FE1/3 iirc, but FE11/12 changed it to any of the princesses, providing they're in the right class.

If you use Parthia as an item, it'll boost your resistance, though it gradually fades, much like the Barrier staff or Pure Water. The extended range and recovery comes from its Echoes variation, where it has a Trance Shot that extends the range by another three squares if activated and has the passive Recovery.

On the guys to girl ratio of the playable cast… out of 56 playable chars (not including the decoy, counting Arran/Samson once b/c of how their recruitment works, not including the last paralogue char, including all the others), there are 13 women. 15 in this story, because of Kris and Diana. This isn't including bringing in Camus and Nyna into the army as I have (that would be 57 and 16 respectively).

Next Chapter - The Dragonkin Realm (penultimate chapter)


	43. Chapter 22) The Dragonkin Realm

Chapter 22) The Dragonkin Realm

 _Diana POV_

* * *

 _Dolhr, the land of dragons. If you listen to the stories, then humans had nothing to do with the great Shadow Dragon prior to the war, but we know how history will lie. But it is true that Medy is responsible for two wars and with the same justification. Humans deserved this. And you know, maybe we do, but we're brats who won't simply let ourselves be slaughtered, so here we are. Once again, Medy's empire is crumbling. Once again, he's nearing the end of his reign. Once again, a child of Altea races forward to end it all._

 _Today, we decide our fates once and for all. My, how dramatic._

* * *

It was almost surprisingly how pretty Dolhr was. I expected more doom and gloom for some reason. But the gloomiest things were the abandoned ruins that dotted the fields and mountains, half-overgrown but still standing tall. With flowering vines creeping up the walls, even. Timeless. I supposed that was the word. It was strangely timeless and strangely pretty. And, as humans are wont to do, we were about to bloody it up a lot.

"My biggest question at this point is if Medeus will wait or if he'll meet us in the field," Hardin murmured, frowning over the map Minerva brought in. It was a War Council again, the last War Council of this campaign. Of this war. Win or lose, this was the last one. "Camus?"

"He'll likely stay inside, actually," Camus replied. He stood next to Minerva, across the table from Hardin. As usual, Prince Marth and Nyna were opposite of each other, with Nyna seated and me perched on the arm of her chair. Kris and Caeda flanked Prince Marth, though Kris tucked herself more into his shadow than Caeda did. "I'm not sure he _can_ leave."

"Really?"

"Yes." Camus rested his hand on his chin, lost in thought. "He's done so once, and did his best to hide it, but I remembered seeing his arm rotting before they threw me in the cage."

"I did hear from Michalis that Medeus had to deal with you personally," Minerva noted with some amusement, mostly because no one knew how to reply to that. Nyna winced, no doubt remembering the terror of that day. I leaned into her to reassure her. "So, his resurrection isn't complete or something? That might explain why they needed Princess Elice's ability to use the Aum staff."

"Though, it does raise the question of why they didn't use it sooner," Caeda murmured. She fiddled with the hair by her face, biting her lip. "Was it that they couldn't find the staff?"

"Could be, though Michalis did mention that Gharnef was taking his time." Minerva shrugged. "For all we know, Gharnef was going to use her as a bargaining chip."

"Against Medeus?" Caeda frowned. "I'm not sure that's very smart."

"We're also talking about someone who started all of this because he didn't inherit a certain tome, providing I've heard correctly." Nods all around as we conceded the point. "What's the plan for now, though? My girls bring back news of dragons. And humans, but the dragons are the worrisome part."

"Actually, not as much as you're thinking," I brought up, shifting to stand and be proper. It only felt right, at this point at least. "I was tending to Tiki earlier this morning and thought to ask Bantu about the strange weapons we pulled from Macedon's armory while the Nefy group went out and slaughtered him."

"The… ah, the swords and lances that had an unusual shape that we nearly broke our spines with because they fell," Hardin said with a little laugh. Noticing Prince Marth, Caeda, and Kris all looked confused, he continued, "it was while you three were away. We were pulling supplies from the armory and three crates of weapons nearly fell on our heads."

"They _did_ get horrible splinters from it, and a few unlucky ones broke their feet," Nyna sighed. She'd been the one on shift at the infirmary when it happened. "All the dragons and soldiers, and it was nearly a heavy crate that killed you, Hardin."

"In my defense, there was no reason to put heavy crates there." Hardin smiled slightly and Nyna relaxed enough to roll her eyes. "Regardless, we discovered a mess of swords and lances that looked unusual. We asked Princess Minerva about them..."

"They're weapons designed to cut down wyverns, so Michalis " Minerva explained, catching the thread. She rolled her wrist a few times, wincing at the motion. Camus gave her a concerned look, but she shook her head. "We then wondered if they could be used against dragon-dragons. Can they, Diana?"

"Bantu says so, and he's actually very helpful when it comes to information," I confirmed. Now, granted, Bantu did keep his secrets, but he kept noticeably less than Gotoh and Xane. He'd even told me a story of how a thousand years ago, there was another earth dragon who gained the power of shadows and tormented humans, though that was apparently on another continent entirely, beyond even the western one. "Regardless, they should be useful."

"Well, that's a relief."

"If that's the case, then we should get as many of our best wielding them," Prince Marth murmured, speaking at last. He leaned forward and rested his hands on the table, looking at all of us. "This is it. We end this today. So-"

"Prince Marth, if the next words are 'this is an honor', save them," Hardin instantly deadpanned. The rest of us laughed, unable to help it. "If you try, then my last words to you are going to be indignant and irritated."

"Well, that would be bad, and I'm certain you'd remember it for however long you live." Prince Marth smiled warmly. "Then, instead, I say that I look forward to sharing a victory drink with everyone, once this ends."

"Much better." Hardin smiled back. "Until we meet at the end of the war."

We all dispersed then, heading to our respective areas. Minerva and Caeda went to the fliers. Camus and Hardin, the cavalry. Marth and Kris went to check in on the Alteans, and the other soldiers. I frowned when I noticed Kris shift so that she wouldn't walk past Cain, thinking it was odd. But there was nothing to be said about that, especially since she broke off quickly to go talk to the mages.

"This is it, then," Nyna murmured. She clasped her hands in front of her and smiled at me. "Are you certain you are all right with being the infirmary guard as usual?"

"Where else would I be but by your side?" I countered, shrugging. A couple of passing soldiers gave us a weird look before continuing on whispering about something. "No, I started this whole little adventure as your guard and that's how I intend to end this war as well. Who needs glory? I'm fine in the shadows."

"Hee… I thought you'd say that." She giggled, muffling the sound with her hand. "You'll return to the court with me, yes?"

"Of course, and you'll laugh at how awkward I get over Jeorge properly courting." I made a face and this time, she didn't even bother muffling her laugh. "Though… oh, Princess Elice." I waved as Princess Elice approached, both Nyna and I switching to our 'professional' personas. "What is it?"

"I was looking for the infirmary and instead, managed to get myself lost," Princess Elice admitted sheepishly, brushing her hair behind her ear. She even blushed a little. "Merric was helping me, but he had to talk to Kris and Linde…"

"You're in luck, as that's exactly where we were heading," I replied, with a little laugh. I patted her on the shoulder and nudged her to follow us. "This way. We're preparing for the last battles, after all."

Who would survive to tell the tale of what happened today? I wasn't sure even the gods knew.

* * *

Dragons for the big stuff and distractions. Humans for sneaky strike force. That was the name of the game for today's battle, it seemed, as that was what the enemy was doing. The result was that, happily, I wasn't facing a lot of dragons, but I did have to fight a lot of humans. Fun, fun.

"Gods, I'd damn you lot if I weren't sure you had other problem," I growled, killing another one. This one was more painful than the last few because this one got a good hit on my side. "Any others…?" I looked around to see everything was clear. Well, clear of living enemies. Had a bunch of enemy corpses and some living allies trying to not bleed out while the healers bandaged them up. As one could expect, big battles led to big casualties. We had three tents just for the injured. The dead were left off to the side, stripped down for their clothes to be used as extra bandages. Not the most dignified of things, but the only dignified war was a scripted one.

Still, at the moment, there were no enemies, so I ducked into one of the tents to see if I could find some bandages for the wound on my side. Some of my muscles began aching, some very painfully, so I thought I might've pulled something and honestly wondered if there was any pain medication I could just down to ignore it. Though almost as soon as I thought that, Maria popped out of nowhere, so maybe that was life saying 'hey, you are enough of an idiot as is, no need to be more of one'.

"Oh, this must hurt a lot," Maria murmured, examining the injury carefully. She was covered in so much blood that I had difficulties deciding if the red in her hair was her 'normal' red or because of blood. "Here, here! I'll fix you up!"

"Thanks, Maria," I whispered, finding an unused box to sit on. Sitting, however, made my head spin. "Ugh…"

"Eek!" Maria appeared again with a Recover staff and a bunch of medicine. "Let me see." She got on her tiptoes and prodded at my skull. "You've got a concussion."

"I do?" I winced as she found a particularly tender spot. "Oh, I can believe that, though I don't remember getting hit on the head."

"Hold still. I'll fix you up!" She smiled sweetly and began using her staff on me. I watched her closely, studying her expression. I'd picked her up at the church in the morning, just as I had promised, and neither of us had spoken of Michalis. I was the only one in the army who knew she had tended to him and I had a feeling she had succeeded since she hadn't been in tears. But I didn't know where he ended up and I wasn't sure I wanted to. "How do you feel?"

"Tired." But I wasn't in pain anymore, so I smiled at her. "But better."

"Yay!" She giggled, but she did lean into me briefly, resting her head on my shoulder. "I'm tired too. But it's almost over, right?"

"Yes, it is." I kissed the top of her head and tasted something coppery and iron-y. Blood in her hair, then. "Can you keep going?"

"Yes." She nodded once and straightened. "Back to work!"

"Let the others know if you're too tired to work." I watched her leave and then stood up to check outside. Finding no enemies, I then went to check on everyone. Hugs for Nyna and Lena, and a quick break for Elice because while she was used to healing, she was also recovering from a lengthy imprisonment. Then it was back outside for more fighting.

At least, that was the plan. It ended up with me almost decapitating my lover. I was clearly _great_ at relationships.

"Hello to you too, beautiful," Jeorge joked. He had his quiver and bow slung across his shoulders, and carried a staff for unknown reasons. He was splattered with more blood than normal for a battle and he had a couple of bandages, hinting to on-field treatment. "Didn't think I looked that much of a fright."

"One, there's been a lot of ambushes," I retorted. Still, I backed off and tried to not squirm from embarrassment. "Two, I highly doubt I look anything remotely pretty right now." However, even as mortified as I was, I had to smile. "What brings you back here?"

"Got the staff." He held it up as proof. It took a moment to realize he meant the Aum staff. "And I volunteered to sneak back and make sure it got here."

"Why did you volunteer? You've the Parthia, so…"

"Why else?" He kissed my cheek, regardless of the sweat, dirt, and blood. "I wanted to see you."

"That… you…!" My face burned with a blush and he laughed. "We're in the middle of a battle!"

"Are we? There's no enemies about." He grinned and my face went even redder. I heard snickers from nearby soldiers. "Princess Nyna, Princess Elice, Princess Maria, Lady Lena, we reclaimed the Aum Staff." And I once again wondered where Wrys was. Maybe he was a healer on the field. "If one of you can be spared…"

"And here I thought you were trying to kill my best friend with embarrassment." Nyna stepped out, wincing at the bright sunlight. Like all the healers, she was covered in blood and muck. I almost flinched at how badly her clothes were stained, truthfully. "Though, Diana, your face _is_ quite red," she teased. I scowled at her and she muffled a tired laugh. "I was also ordered by Lena to go on break. I almost confused two different medicines."

"That does sound bad, but I agree that Diana is so adorable when flustered," Jeorge laughed. However, he presented the staff to Nyna with a fair amount of seriousness. "But here is the staff."

"I see." She took it and held it up to the light briefly before very quickly tossing it into one of the lesser used infirmary tents. "I don't want that temptation. Marth is right. It wouldn't be fair."

"An admirable attitude." Jeorge crossed his arms and glanced around, eyes lingering on the bodies. "Camus was hoping you weren't too overwhelmed here. Seems to not be the case."

"It could be worse." Nyna frowned slightly. "When did you have the time to talk, though?"

"He had to jump off his horse to dodge a dragon's fire and I helped him find his understandably traumatized, but miraculously unharmed, horse." Jeorge grinned. "I do believe he picked you a flower for later, though." Now Nyna's face went red. "You're all so easy."

"Meanwhile, you barely blush at anything!" Nyna scowled, but relaxed quickly. I just focused on making sure no one tried to kill us, and trying to get my blush to go away. "Well, regardless of how you said it, I am glad to hear Camus is doing well. How are Hardin and Prince Marth? Diana can see Caeda and Minerva in the sky just enough times for us to be reassured."

"Hardin and Camus have a 'no, I have to protect _you_ ' mini-argument that's also turned into a kill competition, and last I saw of Prince Marth, he was leading the charge with his ever helpful mage knight at his side." Jeorge smiled. "And to save us all time and breath, everyone is fine still. Tired, injured, and ready for this to be over. But fine."

"Good." Nyna breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

"However, speaking of Minerva…" I began, having looked up just in time to see Minerva flying our way. Blood poured out of a wound on her leg. "Nyna, if you don't have a staff…" Nyna disappeared inside. "Minerva, over here! There's a clear area this way!"

Minerva managed to land where I indicated, and I helped keep her wyvern calm while Jeorge helped Minerva out of the saddle and limp towards the infirmary. Lena actually came out to meet her, with Minerva just leaning on Jeorge while Lena made sure she didn't bleed out, and Maria followed soon after to take over calming and tending the wyvern.

"Thanks for this, Lena," Minerva whispered once Lena straightened. She carefully put her weight on the leg and nodded. "A dragon managed to catch me while I was diverting attention off of the cavalry."

"It's no trouble," Lena reassured with a smile. She staggered back from exhaustion, though, and I had to catch her. "I think I might need my own break, though."

"Well, with luck, we're almost-" She was cut off suddenly by a thunderous, despairing roar. "Think they did it." She raced to her wyvern and kissed Maria on the forehead before taking to the air. After a moment, she shouted in delight. "They did! They're through the gate!"

"Now the real battle begins." Lena closed her eyes. "Oh, blessed gods, watch over us."

The knowledge that the main group had broken through revitalized everyone. The barely injured raced off with smiles and cheers. Jeorge briefly took my hand and kissed it before running to join them. Minerva flew off to meet up with her fliers. The more seriously injured, the healers, and me the guard all stayed where we were, staring into the distance at the barely visible keep. The infirmary wouldn't move closer. It was deemed too dangerous. Those inside would have to rely on field healers, while we tended to the soldiers falling back and the soldiers still fighting to make sure Medeus received no reinforcements.

Lena continued praying. Maria took my hand and I squeezed it reassuringly. Princess Elice stepped over to Lena's side and whispered her own prayers. Nyna appeared by me and leaned into my side, resting her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her and smiled. Today, it all ended. All the fighting… all the deaths… today, we ended this war of shadows. Either with our victory or our defeat. But here was hoping for victory. I thought we earned it.

* * *

Author's notes: In Shadow Dragon, there is potentially another paralogue and it actually has the easiest requirements to get. You have to have Tiki dead, and you can't have the Falchion when you end the chapter (you can do this by getting the Falchion and then killing off Tiki while she has it in her inventory; you can then resurrect her during the paralogue with the Aum staff). However, dialogue in FE12 implies that the paralogue is non-canon (amusingly enough, since the rest are considered canon… as is a deathless run). And we're going to continue with that for pacing reasons (it feels smoother to just run straight into the ending). In the final BS Fire Emblem chapter (which details Camus helping Nyna escape and was featured in Interlude - Castle in this story), if you kill the boss before Nyna escapes, then Medeus himself comes to deal with Camus. However, this chapter in game states that Medeus can't actually leave his keep because his resurrection wasn't complete. I'm reconciling the two by having it where it was leaving to deal with Camus that led to Medeus confirming it wasn't complete.

This chapter features the last shops of the game, with a secret shop in the mountains, a vendor for your staff and tome needs, and an armory which sells wyrmslayers and dragonpikes. In game, it's three each, but we'll just say Michalis kept a lot more. As for the 'other continent', Jugdral is confirmed to exist in the same world as Archanea, but the events of FE4/5 take place 1000 years prior to the events of FE1/11.

Next Chapter - Final Chapter, Chosen by Fate


	44. Final Chapter) Chosen by Fate

Final Chapter) Chosen by Fate

 _Kris POV_

* * *

 _It's all led up to this. The long war… liberating all the countries… all the deaths… everything has led to this crazy moment. We broke through and split into groups, knowing full well that Medeus could've anticipated this. After all, he knew we were coming. He knew that if we were going to end this war, we would have to fight him. There was no other choice._

 _The last battle… the last struggle… everything ended today._

* * *

It was hard to describe the castle. Old. Dark. Timeless. It was a bit like the country itself, really. I might've been able to describe it a little better if I was paying attention, but really, all of my focus was on potential ambushes and trying to not throw up. Here we were, charging through the enemy stronghold, ready to kill the legendary Shadow Dragon and it was just us humans. While the original plan had been for Tiki, Bantu, and/or Xane to be with us… there had just been too many dragons outside. We had to leave them to assist with that. But maybe we should've grabbed one of them anyway because we were running in circles with no idea where to go. I swore, despite us going 'forward' as much as possible, we had passed the same big entry chamber three times by now.

"Ah, good, you're not too far inside yet." And right as we were about to stop and retrace our steps, Gotoh stepped out of the shadows, because why wouldn't he just be lurking in the shadows right now. "I had worried I wouldn't be able to catch you," he murmured, bowing politely to all of us. He also, surprisingly, used a Fortify staff on all of us. "You have fought well, Marth."

"How did you get here?" Marth asked curiously. He then paused and smiled sheepishly. "Ah, wait, that was rude."

"But a good question nonetheless. Sadly, it's a simple answer. I teleported." Gotoh smiled sadly and looked about the castle. The rest of the soldiers relaxed while Marth and Gotoh talked, gathering the last of their energy reserves. "Medeus still has one of the warp circles set up. I didn't think he would, but thought I might see. It's only good for a single person, but that's enough for one old man."

"I see." Marth's smile warmed. "Then, may I ask why you are here? If it's to show us the way, I'll gladly accept! We're…" Marth shrugged. "We're kind of lost."

"It's a surprisingly large castle, and I will gladly show you. But that's not actually why I'm here."

"Oh?"

"Yes." He fell silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I washed my hands of mankind's foolishness long ago, assisting only because I knew my dearest friend, my beloved queen, would wish it." He bowed his head, and I wondered why. Was it sadness? Shame? It was impossible to guess. "However, you and yours have reminded me of just why she loved humans so, and thus, made me believe such a decision was… rash. So please, let me allow me to assist a little more fully than simply showing you the way."

"You mean you'll fight with us?"

"Yes, though I lack the power to combat Medeus. But his minions? I should still hold more than enough strength for them." He smiled proudly. "So, go forward with your head held high, Marth, and win back our future." Marth's eyes widened at the words before he smiled back, looking almost teary. "Your family would be proud of how far you have come."

"...Thank you…" Marth's smile grew and then he abruptly turned away. I rolled my eyes when I realized he was going to address the soldiers before breaking down crying, but Gotoh didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed amused.

Since he was in a good,or at least apologetic, mood, I actually skipped over to talk to him, because there were a couple of questions I did want answers to. "There was this gem I saw, and accidentally lost, in that tower where Gharnef was," I began slowly when he looked at me. I had to fight to keep from squirming; the thought of the thing made me uncomfortable. "It was black, with a flicker of-"

"The darksphere," Gotoh identified quickly. It was almost _too_ quickly, really. "A gem equal in power to, say, the starsphere, but it's power is much different."

"It is?" I was more confused by the whole 'gems had power' thing, but then again, Gotoh had made Starlight from two of them. "What does it do, then?"

"How to explain…" Gotoh paused again to think. I felt like I was all the way back in Talys, having lessons with Jagan. "Everything that exists has a bit of light and a bit of darkness within them. It is what you choose that determines your character. Being 'good' is a constant and active choice. Even Naga had times where she buckled and wanted nothing more than to rage and destroy."

"And that's related to the gem?"

"Yes, because the darksphere removes that choice from its holders. In exchange for protection and power, it forces the person's darkest thoughts, finding every little tiny seed and forcibly tearing them through the mind to leave scars. It drowns and devours all of a person's light, bit by bit, so that those thoughts are their only. And often, it does it so subtly that the person doesn't realize what's going on until it's far too late to stop it."

"That can happen?"

"Yes, quite so." His eyes grew a little distant, lost in the past."I once knew of a powerful dragon, a dragon of great wisdom, who could peer into a person's heart and bring out those thoughts. The few times I saw him battle, he would use that ability to make a person stop fighting or to manipulate others to fight and leave him out of it entirely. Able to make the emotions ebb and flow like the waters he drew power from."

"What happened to him?"

"He lives among humans, on a different continent entirely. He loves them dearly, just as Forseti loves the people of Jugdral."

"The… huh?" There was a lot in those two sentences. There was actually a bit too much, especially for me right now.

"Ah, nothing. Just reminiscing about old friends who have left these lands." He chuckled, amused about something. "But regardless, that's what it is, and what it does."

"Ah." I glanced over at Marth, who was apparently in the middle of some speech. I should've been listening, but… "So… say I… uh…"

"Whatever it is that shakes you, yes, it is from your own mind." Damn that he figured it out quickly. "The traces are there, born from the darker parts of your heart, and the circumstances that allow them to fester are real. All the darksphere can do is amplify until it drowns out everything." Gotoh smiled quite kindly, more kindly than I would've expected. "But they are not your only thoughts. They are the darker thoughts, often drowned out by your light before you are even aware of them. Again, it is what you choose that determines whether you are 'good' or 'evil'. It is what you choose, and how you react to the consequences of your choices."

"Ah." I needed a subject change. Now. "So, when I grabbed Falchion for Marth, it kind of buzzed a little?"

"Ah, that was it acknowledging you as a potential wielder." He became thoughtful. "If something happened to Marth, then you could take it up. Take it up and his cause. But only if something happens. Falchion chose him first, and it likes to stay with its wielders until they pass."

"Then I need to make sure he stays alive. Even more so." Because if there was one thing I didn't want, it was the fancy royal sword. I liked being quiet. I liked being… I liked being in the shadows. "But I guess, in a way, you could say I am truly his 'shadow'."

"Always there, always a reminder to not be too light or too dark, lest you disappear." He chuckled. "All good rulers have one such confidant. It is often a lonely path for said confidant, though. Few understand that sort of loyalty, and fewer still are content to being 'second' in their lover's heart."

"Meh, I can deal." I looked over at Marth, rallying and charming the soldiers with a bright and kind smile. Even if those thoughts were true, it was _also_ true that I was proud to fight alongside him. I was proud to stand by him, always. "I can deal."

And today, we ended this war. Gods help us all.

* * *

As he had implied, Gotoh knew the place. He knew the place very well. This castle had been Medeus's for a very long while, and had apparently belonged to his family before that. Though, it could've simply been 'based' on the one his family had. Gotoh's wording had been a little confusing, and with us racing through the halls, trying to not die from random ambushes, there wasn't time to ask for clarifications. After all, since we were closer to Medeus, we now fought his soldiers, the ones who decided to defend Medeus to the death. So, at each ambush, a group of soldiers would carve a path and then remain behind to hold said path as we pushed forward.

Merric and I stuck close to Math. I refused to let Marth stand alone against that creature. Merric pointed out we'd need a healer. So, the two of us decided to be the _absolute last_ ones to leave, if it came to that. But others would stop to fight. Most I, sadly, didn't recognize, by face or name, and I knew that most would be dead before we could end this. I wondered how many of the dead I'd know this time. I'd been rather lucky, mostly by keeping close to a select group of people. But would I be lucky this time? I had no idea, really.

I paused in my running when I noticed Cain and Abel peel off, rallying a group of soldiers. I hesitated, wondering if I should say something, and not just because of the potential feelings for Cain. After all, I'd known Cain and Abel since the beginning of things, and even if circumstances meant I spent little time with them nowadays, they were some of my oldest friends. But that creepy, crawling feeling returned, so instead, I simply continued running. Right now, there was too much going on. Right now, all of my energy had to be focused on one thing. There was no time to work through any of that. We had to run. We had to hurry. All these soldiers were fighting inside. We still had soldiers fighting outside. We had to end things quickly, or everyone would die, just from sheer exhaustion.

Only Gotoh, Merric, Marth, and myself were left when we skidded into a large room with suitably large double-doors on the other end, packed with soldiers. Before Marth, Merric, or I could think about groaning or something, Gotoh gestured and _blasted_ a hole through them. It took a couple of blinks to realize he'd used a Thoron spell for it; I hadn't even seen him pull out the tome.

"Beyond those doors is Medeus's chamber," he told us as he pushed open the doors. He quickly ushered the three of us through and it took a second to realize just what he was doing. "Naga always believed in humans. Ever since she met them, spoke with them, she loved them." He tossed Merric his staff as Merric passed him. "She felt they were the future of the world. Prove her right this day! I know you will!" And then the doors slammed shut, cutting us off completely from everyone else.

We stared for a moment, stunned. Startled. Confused. Fearful. All of those emotions flooded us until we were numb again. Then we continued running. We had to. We had to keep going. So, we ran all the way down the hall, no deviations. We ran all the way to another set of double-doors, made of iron and stone. We pushed them open and ran inside, ready to dodge any sort of attack. Medeus had to know we were coming. Medeus could've set up an ambush.

But there was nothing. The three of us slowed to a stop, eyes darting around the simple, empty room before focusing on the man sitting rather lazily in a simple yet elegant throne of dark stone and gold. It took a couple of blinks to realize he had to be Medeus, simply because of how quiet he was and how… how normal. He was an older bald man dressed in maroon and gold robes. If I'd seen him on the street, I'd just assume he was some sort of priest. I wouldn't have guessed he was the dragon who had plunged Archanea into war twice. I wouldn't have guessed he was anything but a mildly smug old man, nothing special.

"Ah, another trio…" Medeus chuckled, regarding us with as much fascination as you would a particularly interesting bug. "Well, now this _is_ familiar." He slowly stood and walked down the stairs from the throne to the main floor. Even while 'on level' with us, he towered over our heads. "I see you found Falchion as well. Gotoh crafted Starlight for you, then."

"Medeus, this war ends today," Marth declared firmly. He drew Falchion, and it glowed briefly, recognizing its ancient enemy. Sadly, he was a little more awkward with the Falchion. "I know not how you came back, but you will die again!"

"Earth dragons always linger, boy. Our bones are the mountains. The soil, our broken scales. We are a resilient race, even in madness, and a dragon's spirit lingers long." He chuckled again, and this time, it sounded mocking. I held up Thoron and drew my sword; Merric brought up Excalibur and held on tightly to Gotoh's staff. "You'll find an earth dragon harder to tame than Gharnef." The air became heavy. The ground quaked in fear. "Come then and face me, though, if you still wish to try your hand. I'll tear the ground asunder…" His form shifted into a massive dragon with gold-brown scales, like the fresh wheat in the fields, with sharp spiky protrusions that reminded me of mountains on the horizon. There were no wings, but large and sharp claws, made for digging, hinted he was never meant to fly. " _And send you straight to hell!_ "

He immediately attacked with his fire-breath thing, though in his case, it was… it was probably black flames, but something about it also gave the impression of him breathing out black _stone_. The impression wasn't helped, of course, by how the stone floor cracked and splintered from the impact. It was all too easy to imagine how crushed we would be if that hit. As it stood, we barely managed to dodge. Barely.

I launched a Thoron at him as soon as I could and tried to dart close to hit him with my sword. The Thoron spell burned his scales slightly, and while I did manage to stab him through a joint in his claw, he twisted and snapped it right in half. The blade was still inside, maybe, but I certainly couldn't stab him anymore and he didn't seem bothered by the sword in his wrist. It was more luck than skill that I managed to dodge the other claw that tried to rip my head off, and even then, it was mostly because Merric blasted Medeus's face with Excalibur. Then it was dodging that damn breath-attack he had, and wincing as the shrapnel scratched up my face and hands. Then I winced again when I saw just how little damage Merric's spell actually did. Medeus wasn't immune to magic, but he might as well have been.

Marth tried to charge forward, to strike Medeus down, and I nearly screamed when I saw he disappear among the next bout black-stone-flames. But when it cleared, I saw that he was still alive. He was bleeding badly, and Merric had to heal him up, but he was still alive. But that attack did prove that Medeus was watching him the most. If Marth was going to have any sort of chance in getting to him, we _really_ had to hold his attention. That meant 'me' more than Merric because Merric was our only healer. Healing staves didn't work on the healer using them. That had to be one of the most bullshit things, and in retrospect, we _really_ should've dragged Linde in here with us as a secondary healer. But no, we had left her outside to continue serving as an on-the-field healer alongside Wendell and Wrys. If we had two, then we could charge a little more, but as it stood, we had to deal with Medeus and his breath attack with nothing to serve as a convenient shield…

That one word sparked a thought. 'Shield.' The Fire Emblem was a shield. The Fire Emblem was an old as hell shield, used by Cartas during the first war with Medeus. Shields blocked things. But it would be a gamble. There was no guarantee that the Fire Emblem could block Medeus's attacks or, more importantly, that breathe attack. However, there was no way we would make progress without taking some gambles. Medeus was an old dragon, yes, but one clearly in his prime still, unlike Bantu, meaning that we would easily drop from exhaustion before him. So, thinking quickly, I snatched the Fire Emblem from Marth, shoved him towards Merric, and brought the shield up and braced when Medeus loosed yet another breath attack.

I ground my teeth as pain still pierced through me. I half-thought the skin on my legs had been ripped off from the shockwave, and that I'd broken three ribs at least from the force. But when the stone-flames dissipated, I could still breath. I could still stand. In fact, I was standing among rubble, with a clear V-shaped crater at my feet to show where the breath had been diverted. My legs were bleeding. I definitely had bruised something in my chest. The arm that held the shield was actually completely numb. But I was alive. It had protected me.

"Pretty boy!" I snapped, clumsily tossing it back to Marth. He barely caught it and stumbled back a bit, staring. "Use it to get close! We're not surviving much longer!"

"We'll cover and distract!" Merric added, healing me up. I winced and bit back tears as my arm decided to stop being numb. "Go! We're only getting one more shot at this! Take it!"

After a moment, Marth nodded and darted to the side, ducking behind one of the few pillars. Medeus tried to track him, but Merric and I threw both Excalibur and Thoron at his face to distract him. I ran and threw another Thoron at his side, aiming for my broken blade in his claw. That one caught his attention and held it to the point that he focused solely on me, growling in pain before releasing another breath-attack. I had to dive and roll to avoid it and I nearly blacked out from pain as Medeus raked a claw over my back. I only didn't because Merric managed to heal me almost immediately afterwards, though I still did hit the ground hard. I rolled onto my back and fired off a Thoron, directly into his gaping maw. Medeus reared back from the attack, because not even he could be unfazed by electricity in the mouth. He stumbled back when Merric launched two Excaliburs into his eyes, giving me time to scramble up and get away. Medeus growled, annoyed, and prepared to strike us again, but then switched his target quickly because he had finally seen Marth, darting close, almost there.

It was like a story. Medeus reared back and released his black stony flames. Marth brought the shield up to block it. But he didn't just block it. He used it as a wedge to continue forward, one shaking step at a time. Despite the injuries on his legs, despite the bruising on his chest and arm, he pushed forward through the flames, forcing them to part before him. So that, when it cleared, Marth was within Medeus's guard. So that, when it cleared, Marth just had to surge forward with Falchion, shining Falchion, and carve through Medeus's unarmored belly. Falchion's light was as bright as the sun, and automatically, I flinched back, bringing my hand up to shield my I still saw Medeus fall and hit the ground hard enough to make the ground shake. I still saw Marth drive Falchion straight through Medeus's heart.

Blood spewed everywhere and Marth actually fell on his ass because he lost his footing. I slid forward and dragged him back, out of range of the claws. Merric worked on healing us again, preparing for another attack. But none came. Medeus struggled to breathe, sides heaving as he gasped for air. He tried to push himself up, but slipped in his own blood. Then, finally, he grew still, save for those labored breaths.

" _Defeated by humans… again…?"_ Medeus's voice echoed through our heads, somewhere between shocked and amused. " _Ah, then know this, Altean Prince. The light which surrounds you is but a temporary respite."_ Medeus lifted his head to snarl-grin at Marth, even as his body began crumbling away, like a poorly made statue of mud. " _So long as darkness survives… so will my people's wrath. And so will I…!"_

Medeus's body fell apart, piece by piece. Some pieces were small, like a tiny speck of dust. Some were a bit larger, like his teeth. But it disappeared, smelling absolutely horrible as the insides just fell to the bloody ground. But then, the insides themselves also began crumbling, leaving only a strange bit of bloody 'mud' where once Medeus had stood, all that was left of the Shadow Dragon.

The three of us stood there, stunned, and we remained there until Gotoh walked in, perfectly fine, with a kind and proud smile. That's… that's when we realized. That's when it really hit. That's… we did it. We actually did it. Medeus was dead. The war was over. We won. _We won_. As soon as I process it, I started laughing and I dragged Marth into a hug. Of course, we were both so tired that we both fell, but still, he laughed too. Merric sat next to us, also laughing, and before long, we could hear laughter and cheers echoing through the halls as everyone else realized what happened too. We did it. We won. It was over. We did it.

I glanced over at Medeus's body, both to make sure he didn't somehow reform and kill us and because of his words. When I looked, though, I saw a strange figure nearby, a beautiful woman with long green hair and a pale pink dress. A woman who, honestly, reminded me of Tiki. She smiled gently, kindly, _proudly_ at us before vanishing in the blink of an eye, like she had never been there at all. I thought I'd just been imagining it, but when I looked at Gotoh, I saw his nostalgic sadness and how he bowed in respect.

I almost asked more, but then decided that it didn't matter. If it was important, then future me could deal with it. I was _done_ for the day, thank you very much!

* * *

Author's note: Medeus's line about an earth dragon being harder to deal with is technically from the previous chapter (while the line about sending to hell comes from the fan translation, and not the official localized script). The Fire Emblem gives no defensive boosts (and really only lets Marth open chests in FE1/11), but there's this _epic_ fanart that I saw a while ago (that I sadly do not have saved or have the artist's name for) where Marth used the shield to block Medeus's attack (though that might've been for FE3). Typically when you fight (or at least, when I did), you'll have Marth (or Tiki) alone against Medeus with a healer nearby, hence the minimal party. As for magic being 'less effective', Medeus has a very impressive resistance of 23 (just two below his defense in fact). To use Merric as an example, assuming he hit his average in magic (17-18) as a fully leveled sage, then Merric's doing like… 7 damage per hit. In FE3, all earth dragons halved incoming damage as well (players of the Jugdral games will recognize this ability; Loptyr gave its users the very same protection), though this was removed for FE11 and FE12. Really, your best tactic is just to throw Marth or Tiki at Medeus for the effective damage.

Curious as to how many people will guess the unnamed dragon Gotoh talks about. As for Forseti and Jugdral, the Jugdral and Archanea games actually take place in the same 'universe' and timeline, with the Jugdral games being 1000 years prior to the Archanea games. Marth visibly reacting to Gotoh's words is because, if you played through the prologue, you actually get a little flashback sequence immediately afterwards, from the Prologue. If you didn't, though, it just skips right on to the rest of the script. Medeus's form is based off of his Shadow Dragon incarnation, with the 'claws made for digging' coming from how a) earth dragon and b) iirc, in FE3, Earth Dragons' battle animation involved them clawing their way out of the ground. Why does Naga make an appearance at the end? Partially, it's a nod to 'Nagi' and it's partially just… something that felt right as I was writing.

Next Chapter - Epilogue (there will be only one epilogue)


	45. Epilogue) New Beginnings

Epilogue) New Beginnings

* * *

The air was filled with laughter and music as the victorious soldiers of the Archanean Army, or whatever the official name was, celebrated the end of the war. A few days after the fact, of course. Yes, there had been some tired ones immediately afterwards, but full-swing ones like this? You had to build up the energy for, and you really didn't want to celebrate while next to all the dead. And it was a high death toll. That last battle had been one of the most brutal, thanks to all the dragons. There were many who weren't going to make the trip home. There were many who didn't even have a body to _carry_ home. But those were thoughts for later. Right now? Right now, we were enjoying life. And enjoying the end of the war. Because damn it, we'd earned this.

I lingered on the outskirts, sipping some water, watching the various dancers have fun. I smiled warmly when I saw Camus and Nyna in the middle of it all, with Camus actually teaching Nyna some of the dances since she had never danced anywhere but a ballroom. Both were laughing and smiling, and I hoped they could hold onto that happiness. There was still a lot to be done. The war was over, but rebuilding? Gods, there was a _lot_ to rebuild. Really, this would probably be the last bit of fun everyone would have for months. If not more. So, I hoped everyone could remember this feeling. This feeling of accomplishment and cheer.

My eyes drifted over the crowd, picking out people I knew. Astram and Midia danced and laughed among the crowd, lost in their own little world. Hardin jokingly asking Minerva to dance, and her threatening to bruise his feet before agreeing with a smile. I saw Jeorge dance with tiny Maria, teasing her until she blushed and laughed. I watched Linde and Merric dance about before she shoved him at Elice, so that he danced with her instead.

"There you are." Then Nyna was at my side, bouncing and giggling. "I had wondered where you were," she continued, laughing. I glanced around and saw Camus sharing a drink with Hardin and Minerva. "Why are you so far away from everything?"

"I just wanted to look at everything, Nyna," I explained. I offered her my water, and she took it gladly. "Take it all in." I began looking around again, and noticed that Caeda wasn't among the dancers surprisingly. After a moment, I saw her and Prince Marth talking quietly on the edges of the party, and I frowned when I noticed Caeda being nervous and Prince Marth being oblivious. "Uh oh."

"Hmm? Ah." Nyna frowned too, watching. And then Caeda left abruptly, looking rather heartbroken. "I know she was going to try and confess…"

"Something tells me Prince Marth missed the point." I glanced at her. "Which one?"

"I'll take Marth, actually. Something tells me he could use a good scolding."

"Then I'll cheer up Caeda." I winked and started for Caeda before I lost her. "Have fun!"

"Oh, I will!" Nyna laughed and waved goodbye before heading straight for Marth with an expression of perfect innocence. She really was going to let him have it.

I snickered before catching up with Caeda, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "He's such a dunce sometimes, isn't he?" I said, grinning. Caeda simply smiled faintly. "Even with all this, he's a stupid boy. But Nyna will set him straight. Probably after making him squirm a bit. So, how about you and I have some fun together and make him work for it?"

"Well, I had been wanting to dance," Caeda began slowly. Her smile warmed and she giggled, feeling better already. "You can be my first dance of the night!"

"An honor I shall cherish forever." I took her hand and pulled her into the crowd. "Come on, then!"

The two of us danced for a few songs before Kris showed up to steal her for the next few, mischievous eyes hinting that she was actively keeping Caeda away from Marth. I had laughed and tried to escape the crowd, but Hardin snagged me for a dance or two. Then Camus. Astram, Midia, Minerva, Lena… Even Maria and Tiki, though they made sure to pair up to dance with me. So, it was a while before I could actually leave the crowd, though I couldn't really be mad about it. It was hard to be mad when everyone was having so much fun.

"Oh, hey, perfect!" Kris appeared at my side and tugged me a little further away from the crowd. "Look," she giggled, pointing to where Marth and Caeda were talking again. This time, though, Marth was blushing badly, fumbling through his words. "Ah, the silly prince. Playing keep away was fun."

"Wasn't it?" I giggled, amused. Part of me wanted to get a little closer to eavesdrop, but I decided against it. This was their moment, just for them. No need to potentially ruin the mood. "Perfect payback for him being oblivious."

"Worse, he was being 'dutiful'. I swear Nyna almost bopped him on the head." Kris grinned and stretched her arms out wide, squeaking a little. "Ah, but this mood isn't going to last, is it? There's so much to do still."

"Sadly." The continent had been ravaged. It would probably take _decades_ to rebuild everything. "And Nyna and Prince Marth will be in the middle of things."

"Same for us, though, right? I mean; you're like me." Kris's eyes were serious, even as she kept the grin. "We're both suited to the shadows."

"We are." I ruffled her hair and she made a face. "But, for the night, we're going to have fun just like everyone else. So…" I looked around the crowd to see who was closest and shoved her towards Linde, who instantly dragged her into dancing. "Have fun!" Kris made a funny squawking noise in protest, and I laughed and laughed, watching the chaos.

I wasn't alone for long, though. Someone hugged me from behind and I looked up to see it was Jeorge. "Don't suppose I can have the next dance?" he asked with a grin. I pretended to debate it for a moment before smiling shyly and nodding. "Excellent. Tonight is a night for all of us to have fun."

"It is," I agreed, following him in the crowd. The laughter and cheer was infectious and I held onto the memory. Knowing it would be needed. "It is, indeed."

Tomorrow, we'd actually put in the work to make everything prosper again. Our stories weren't over. They were just getting started, still. And I'd watch it all from the shadows, just like Kris. Because where there was light, there was darkness, and someone had to stand in the dark. That was our choice. And we'd never regret a moment of it. So, tonight, we danced and drank to new beginnings alongside everyone else. The rest of the story could wait for another day.

* * *

 _Fates of people after the partying ended and the reconstruction began:_

 _ **Marth, Altean King** \- Marth returned to war-torn Altea, and devoted his energy to restoring his kingdom to its former glory. Three months after the war's end, he was officially coronated. A month after that, he and Caeda announced their courtship to the joy of all his citizens, and Talys's. Though his heart aches for all the dead, he remains determined to see the future will be a much brighter era than the past. _

_**Nyna, Archanean Empress -** Nyna returned to broken Archanea and spend her days helping her people heal from their terrible wounds. A month after the war's end, she was officially coronated as empress. Though she makes no secret of it, she and Camus wait to announce their courtship, and engagement, to allow the people to become used to him. It's not uncommon to see them walking the gardens, discussing politics and teasing each other. _

_**Caeda, Talys's Heart -** Caeda returned to Talys briefly to assist her father in repairing the various port cities and reestablishing contact with the mainland. Afterwards, though, she flew to Altea to spend her time with Marth, greeting him with a bold kiss to the cheek. Their whispers of love warmed the castle halls, and many songs have been spun of the angelic princess who won the heart of their savior king. _

_**Jagan, Bones of Iron -** Once things had quieted after Marth's coronation, Jagan laid down his lance and instead, became one of Marth's advisors. He still helps train the new batch of soldiers and knights, but his focus is on supporting Marth through reconstruction, giving him the advice he knows Cornelius would've wanted to give._

 _ **Cain, King's Voice -** Cain took over leading the Altean Knights upon Jagan's retirement, taking each and every aspect seriously. He is especially diligent with training the new recruits, and makes sure he holds himself to the same standards. Once a month, he visits the graves of his fallen fellows and tells them about the life he has mad, hoping it would make them feel better that he survived, while they did not._

 _ **Abel, Altea's Shield -** After Marth's coronation, Abel left the army and opened a small shop in the town, using the connections he made in the army to help bring in wares. He and Est live in a townhouse not far from the castle, and he frequently visits his old friends among the knights and helps them gain supplies to rebuild. _

_**Frey, Brave Knight -** Frey regained his memories not long after the war's end and officially returned to active duty, becoming Cain's second in command. He is immeasurably proud of Marth, and is gladdened to see how strong he has become. Once a month, he visits the family who took care of him and shares his stipend with them as quiet thanks._

 _ **Gordin, Bow Knight -** Determined to become stronger, Gordin squired himself to Jeorge to further his mastery of the bow. He spent many months in Archanea before returning to Altea, much more skilled and confident, though still quite shy. He visits his family weekly, and there's talk that his younger brother will soon join the Knights to follow in his footsteps. _

_**Draug, Gentle Giant -** After Marth's coronation, Draug was assigned to an outland garrison, one that needed a great deal of protection as bandits had become far too frequent. After clearing out the bandits, Draug worked diligently in helping the people rebuild, and they soon came to love their kind, but stalwart, protector. He writes to the other knights daily, asking advice and sharing fun gossip to liven up their days._

 _ **Norne, the Volunteer -** Her stint as a warrior over, Norne returned to her home village to help rebuild. However, she practices constantly with her bow, both as a hunter and because she knows the day might come when Marth needs an extra bow again. If that day ever comes, she'll volunteer once more, because she'll always believe in her king._

 _ **Wrys, Kindly Priest -** Wrys didn't return to Talys, but instead, rebuilt a monastery on the outskirts of Altea's capital. As soon as building was completed, he turned it into an orphanage and place of refuge, quietly healing the aches in their hearts while Marth rebuilt. Leaders had to focus on the bigger picture, but others could focus on the smaller, ensuring that all the wounds were mended, in time._

 _ **Ogma, Loyal Blade -** Ogma split his time between Altea and Talys, keeping up his 'contract' for both. Of course, he spends most of his time in Altea with Caeda, guarding her faithfully as he always had. He refuses 'proper' employment as a knight, however. Being a mercenary gives him the option to leave, an option he never had when was little and an option he cannot easily let go of now that he has it. _

_**Barst, the Hatchet -** Barst left the mercenary life and briefly served in the Archanean Army. But he quickly left, for reasons unknown. Some people say he left to become a pirate with Darros, but others think he simply decided he was tired of fighting. Since he proves elusive, the actual answer may never be found._

 _ **Bord, the Lopper -** Bord returned to Talys and his peaceful life as a woodcutter and lumberjack. His craftsmanship was noted to be exemplary, and his woodcuts sold for quite a lot of gold. Still, he promises Caeda that if she should ever need his axe, she need only to ask._

 _ **Cord, the Chopper -** Cord returned to Talys, and his peaceful life as a lumberjack. He become very well known for his speedy work, and he was quite popular when winter's chill came. However, his loyalty is ever to Caeda, and if she needs his axe, she need only to say the word. _

_**Castor, Loving Son -** Castor hurried home after the battles, medicine in hand for his ailing mother. He disappeared, however, after learning his sister had sold herself into slavery to support the family while he was away. Though Caeda tries, there's been no contact from him since. _

_**Darros, Seawalker -** Darros returned to the sea, buying his own ship with his pay from the army. Where he is, no one is sure, though most are certain he will not return to piracy. _

_**Julian, Honest Thief -** Julian gave up thievery for good and found honest work in Macedon as a tailor. Minerva sometimes calls on his sneakiness to ferret out information, but for the most part, he lives in a village not far from the palace with Lena, helping to raise orphans. Though there's no talk of marriage yet, most people know it's only a matter of time. _

_**Lena, Angel to All -** Though offered a spot as the Head Healer for the castle, Lena opted instead to return to the quiet life she enjoyed, focusing on healing the injuries of villagers. She founded a convent in a village not far from Macedon's castle, though she occasionally returns to Grust in order to teach healing magic to some villagers there. For the most part, though, she raises orphans with Julian, and doles out love in equal shares. And blushes when people ask her about when she and Julian will marry. _

_**Navarre, Silent Sword -** Navarre vanished into the night not long after the battles concluded. No one knows where he went, though many imposters appear to profit off his name. Ogma is certain that he'll appear again, though, seeking strong warriors and fierce battles again. _

_**Merric, Mirthful Mage -** After Marth's coronation, Merric returned to Khadein to finish up his magical studies. He's taking more classes than most in order to finish quickly, as he wishes to help Marth and Elice as soon as possible. Amusingly, when asked about Elice, he blushes and stutters, hinting to a crush, at the very least of things. _

_**Matthias, Dashing Noble -** Matthias left the army as quickly as possible to return to a dull, predictable life. Pure bliss for him. However, he seems to be the only one who doesn't see the genuine love his sister has for Julian and continuously tries to ward Julian away from Lena. Thankfully, no one pays him any mind. _

_**Hardin, Coyote -** After the war, Hardin returned to Aurelis to assist his brother in aiding their people. Often, he is seen riding through the Lea, enjoying the chance to have a peaceful ride for the first time in years. Though his heart still hurts, he is determined to live his life to the fullest and be as happy as possible. And to watch over his new friends with a smile, so that they might find their greatest happiness too. _

_**Wolf, Aurelian Hero -** Wolf, of course, remained a knight of Aurelis, and was always by Hardin's side to assist. In time, he was named captain of an elite force that had an official name, but was more commonly called the Wolfguard. 'Coyoteguard' didn't flow off the tongue quite as well. _

_**Sedgar, Aurelian Star -** Like Wolf, he remained a knight of Aurelis, and frequently rode scouting missions to assess the damages to Aurelis. When Wolf was named captain, he was named vice-captain, and became a pillar of support for all who served. _

_**Roshea, Aurelian Hope -** Roshea temporarily left the Aurelisi army to explore the rebuilding world, mostly to try and find his place in it. He stayed in Altea for quite some time to assist before returning to Aurelis to retake his knightly vows. He was promptly placed in the Wolfguard and served faithfully, his determination certain. _

_**Vyland, Aurelian Son -** Vyland remained a knight of Aurelis, like most of the plainspeople Hardin saved. He became quite known as a nanny and fusspot, always placing the needs of his friends over his own, and always tending to their soldiers worries as closely as possible. _

_**Wendell, Wise Teacher -** Wendell returned to Khadein and taught for a time. However, he left after a while for some 'secret mission' entrusted to him by Gotoh. What it is, no one knows, as even when he stays in one place long enough to teach, he says not a word. _

_**Rikard, Big-time Thief -** Rikard returned home to supposedly live in peace. Strangely enough, the towns near his home experienced a sudden increase in break-ins and purse-snatchings, but he always insists his innocence. Julian rolls his eyes when he hears, but Lena truly believes it. _

_**Athena, Vun Voman -** Athena travels the lands for some time, with a focus on saving children who have been caught up in the conflict. She returns to the people who saved her from time to time, and also visits Altea frequently to help the knights train. She says it is only fair to repay us for all our help, though she always keeps quiet on where exactly she's from. _

_**Bantu, Fire Dragon -** Bantu remained behind in Dolhr's countryside, seeking to assist the dragons still living there. How successful he is, we're not sure, but there are no random attacks from Dolhr in the months after the war, so perhaps he has convinced many to wait and hope._

 _ **Caesar, Hired Sword -** Caesar went right on back to the mercenary life, sometimes doing jobs for Nyna personally. He's careful about his money, mostly because his sister depends on the medicine he buys with said money, and always warns that he will sell his blade to the highest bidder. Nyna accepts the warnings with a smile and a quiet boast of 'I will always be the highest bidder' as a reassurance. _

_**Radd, Lady-Killer -** After the war, Radd stops taking up so many jobs, supposedly to woo a woman. It's unknown how well he succeeds, but there's talk that the woman is Caesar's sister, which likely provides no end of amusement. _

_**Roger, Still Single -** Roger found his way back to Grust, a little heartbroken, but mostly resigned and amused. Along the way, he reached out to the many people whom the war had touched and focused on helping them rebuild his lives. Regardless of how it happened, he is glad he joined Marth's side of the war. _

_**Jeorge, Perfect Shot -** Jeorge returned to Archanea, helping to rebuild the lands both as a general and as the duke of Menedy. Nyna has him keep Parthia as a sign of trust, and he works tirelessly to restructure the archery units. Almost as tirelessly as he works to help Camus acclimate to Archanea, tease Midia and Astram mercilessly, and court Diana. Regardless of his carefreeness, he visits Charles's grave one a month to let him know of everything going on. _

_**Maria, Petite Princes -** Maria headed to Khadein for a while, to learn more about magic and healing, before returning to Macedon to assist her people as a cleric. She works closely with Lena and always has a smile on her face. No one knows about Michalis's fate and the part she has played, probably because that story is still unfolding. _

_**Minerva, Crimson Dragoon -** Despite her reservations, the people of Macedon clamoured for her to become their queen, and she was officially coronated two months after the end of the war. She puts all her effort into restoring Macedon's glory, and quietly longs for the days where she was only a general. She ignores all whispers of Michalis's possible survival, as the thought just might make her resolve falter and shatter. _

_**Linde, Smiling Mage -** Linde splits her time between Khadein and Archanea, learning magic just as her father did, while also becoming one of Nyna's Ladies in Waiting. Though she will also swing by Altea to visit Kris, just for fun. With Gharnef dead and the war over, she's finally healing from her father's death, and she is able to visit his grave without collapsing into tears. _

_**Jake, Anna's Love -** Jake returned to his lady love, Anna, and helped rebuild various towns destroyed by the war. He and Anna talk often of visiting distant lands, many of which sound like only fantasy. But they talk of it with sparkling eyes, so no one says a word of dissent. _

_**Midia, Lady Knight -** Though Midia thought of retiring to properly rule Deil, she honors Nyna's request to remain a knight at least a little while longer, even becoming their captain. She works hard to discipline all the new soldiers, coordinating with Jeorge and Astram. She also challenges Camus to frequent spars to vent out frustration and, surprisingly, the two begin a strong friendship from it. _

_**Dolph, Spitting Image -** Dolph served in the army for a while longer before leaving for 'personal reasons'. Though some say it was a rejection of the emperor-to-be, those who know him think it is simply him being tired of fighting. _

_**Macellan, Dead Ringer -** Macellan left the army without a word of explanation, simply an apology to Nyna that he chose to no longer serve. He settled near the border and formed a band of watchmen to guard the nearby towns from bandits, leading most to believe he wished to fight smaller battles and no more wars. _

_**Tomas, Quiet Bow -** Tomas left the army after a bad injury, and lived quietly in peace. He sometimes returns to the palace to catch up with old friends, but for the most part, keeps his distance. _

_**Boah, Royal Bishop -** Boah resumed his duties as an advisor, determined to help the people get back on their feet. In time, he softens his stance on Nyna and Camus's courtship and supports them completely, though he worries for the struggles they may face in the future. Still, to see Nyna smiling again is enough for him and no matter her choices, he will support her. _

_**Horace, Man of Worth -** Officially pardoned after the war, Horace returned to his lands to assist his people. He often returns to the castle to make sure everything is okay, and to make sure Nyna takes the breaks she needs. The two resume their letter exchanges, and often write each other twice a day, just for fun. _

_**Beck, Born Shooter -** Beck gained some bit of infamy due to subjugating a group of borderland rebels without a single drop of bloodshed. Supposedly, they all panicked at the sight of a ballista and surrendered, but more likely, it was simply Beck's ability to listen and calm people that led them to lay down their weapons. _

_**Astram, Archanean Hero -** Astram was officially made a captain in Archanea's armies, specifically tasked with managing the various mercenaries employed by the crown. He holds onto Mercurious as a sign of trust, and works hard to be worthy of the honor. In his free time, he teases Jeorge about Diana, goes on dates with Midia, and makes sure Camus and Nyna are well. Once a week, he visits Charles's grave to talk about everything and nothing. Often, he talks of how Diana's found her path, and how he's proud in Charles's place._

 _ **Palla, Eldest Whitewing -** The war gave Palla a horrible case of anxiety, to the point that she had to take a few months leave to recuperate. Not helped, of course, by her unrequited love turning her heart into knots. Still, few things can keep her down, and she returned to duty with her head held high, serving as Minerva's right hand with grace and dignity. _

_**Catria, Middle Whitewing -** Catria returned to Macedon with a stoic expression, a defensive mechanism she fell into to deal with the war and with her own unrequited love. She cursed herself for being pathetic and worked twice as hard to push through it, only to end up in the infirmary. On Minerva's orders, she rests and heals from the war and the love, laughing at how silly she can be. _

_**Arran, Free Paladin -** Arran wandered the lands a while longer before asking to serve Marth as a knight. Marth accepts the oath with a smile and has Arran assist in rebuilding the knights from the ground up, a high honor for an outsider, but one sorely needed to fix the flaws in the Altean Knights. _

_**Xane, Shape-shifter -** After the war, Xane appeared to vanish without a word. There were still some pranks lingering, hinting he had simply shifted into another person briefly, but even those disappeared. No one is sure where he went, but most believe he is ever at Gotoh's side, ready to assist if needed. _

_**Etzel, Spellslinger -** Etzel wandered the lands a while longer before settling in Khadein to assist in teaching the younger students. His heart ached for his dead wife, but he does he best to continue living for her sake, some days being easier than others. _

_**Est, Youngest Whitewing -** Est served in Macedon's army for a month longer before quitting and flying to Altea to live with Abel. She now delights the town with her bright smile and brighter laugh, and frequently visits the castle to talk about pegasi and flying with Caeda. There are some concerns that her smiles hide trauma from the war, but for the most part, she is happy. _

_**Tiki, Dragon Scion -** Tiki lived for a time in Altea, before Gotoh called her away. Tiki cried bitterly at the separation, and Marth asked for Tiki to stay, but Gotoh refused, promising explanations later. When that 'later' will be, no one knows, but sadly, Tiki's whereabouts remain unknown. _

_**Lorenz, People's Man -** Not long after the war, King Ludwik died and Prince Jubelo became king. Due to his young age, though, Lorenz was named regent and he worked hard to rebuild the lands so that Jubelo would not be forced to rule a broken land. There's talks of him not seeing eye to eye with Archanea, but most of it is simply Lorenz being a little too blunt for diplomacy. _

_**Camus, Sable General -** After the war, he returned to Grust briefly to visit Jubelo and Yuliya and to see if there was word from Sirius. Finding no letters, yet, Camus traveled to Archanea with Nyna to properly court her. He is not entirely keen on being 'emperor', but will suffer it to be with her. Many of his Sable Order follow him to Archanea, bolstering Archanea's ruined forces, though they make it clear they are loyal to Camus and Camus alone. _

_**Ymir, No Monster -** The fighting done, Ymir returned to his village, where he was accepted. He was often called to assist in repairs, his size being very useful, and Nyna made sure he was always paid well, so that he could share his wages with his village. _

_**Elice, Life-Giver -** Elice returned to Altea with Marth, to the joy of the citizens who had been so worried for her. Her recovery remains a lengthy process, but she heals in stages and works to help the people heal. And, at all times, she stood by Marth as he struggled to become king, smiling in pride as he blossomed into a fine leader. _

_**Gotoh, White Sage -** At Nyna's request, Gotoh relocated to Archanea and began teaching again. He was wary of another Gharnef, but his students were eager and he softened quickly at their curious questions. No matter how old and secretive he was, it was obvious he was happiest as a teacher. _

_**Kris, King's Shadow -** After Marth's coronation, Kris began the legal process to officially inherit her grandfather's things. Because of how she kept to herself during most of the war and devoted most of her free time to training, most do not know her by sight, and she plans on taking advantage of that to become an Altean Knight through the 'normal' means, instead of simply taking up Marth's offer to become a knight immediately. She wants to earn her place the same way her grandfather did and hopes that by the end of the training, she'll feel comfortable enough to visit his grave. Until then, though, she teases Marth and Caeda mercilessly while working through her own discomforts brought up by the darksphere. In time, she knows, she'll be comfortable in her skin again. _

_**Diana, Empress's Shadow -** Diana returned to Archanea with Nyna, and was officially named Nyna's personal bodyguard. To make sure, however, that she and Nyna didn't fall on old habits while being back within familiar walls, she traveled to, Grust, Aurelis, and Macedon to check in on her friends, worrying especially over Jubelo, Yuliya, Hardin and Minerva. When she returned, she was welcomed back with open arms, and spends her days working with Nyna, teasing Camus, reminiscing with Astram, getting advice from Midia, and going on dates with Jeorge. She tentatively reestablishes contact with her birth family, but has not yet visited Charles's grave. She knows she'll heal enough to in time, though. _

* * *

Author's note: And here's the end of _Shadows of the Heirs_. The epilogue in game actually changes depending on whether or not Caeda lives. The version here, where Caeda tries to get Marth to confess, Marth misses the point, and then Nyna gives him advice leading to an adorable moment… well, that all happens if Caeda lives (obviously). If she doesn't, there's a much more somber scene where Marth and Nyna talk about his feelings for Caeda, and how it is only by sacrificing one's love that Medeus could be defeated (referencing Artemis's Curse). And that's all that happens, really, with even the character endings being quite short (the ones I have more or less double or even triple what the game has). The game is rather sparse on things, sadly. It's certainly been a unique challenge to try and fill in those gaps. Still, I hope you've enjoyed my take on things, and the changes I've made to the plot.

Now, this game actually has a direct sequel involving most of the same cast, which is a rather unique thing for the Fire Emblem series (it wasn't repeated until the Tellius Games, iirc), which is another reason why things are so short here at the end, why there are some lingering plot threads still (like Kris's romance), and why I didn't add paired endings, like I did in _A Tactician's Legacy_. There's another game to go through, and we're more or less at the 'midpoint' for most of these characters, meaning that there's much more interactions and development to come. That said, we're not going to jump straight until the eventual FE3/12 novelization ( _Shadows of the Rulers)_. Instead, we're going to jump across sea to Valentia for the FE2/15 novelization: _Shadows of the Branded_.

Regardless, though, this was certainly a treat to write, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. As mentioned, if you want to continue the series, check out _Shadows of the Branded_. If you want to read more about the Awakening group, check out _Shadows of the Shepherds_. And if you're curious about my take on the Ylissean-Plegian War, check out _Shadows of the Exalt_.

Again, I hope you enjoyed reading!


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